


Bring Your Body Baby (I Could Bring You Fame)

by theboyfriendstagram



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Football Player Louis, M/M, Pining, Shameless Smut, these are the important tags im really lazy sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-04-07 12:51:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 84,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4263903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theboyfriendstagram/pseuds/theboyfriendstagram
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eighteen year old Harry Styles just graduated high school and landed a summer job as a waterboy for his favorite football team. His job description is simple: be ready to hand water and towels to players if needed. That didn’t seem to include Louis Tomlinson though, a twenty-three year old, recently transferred Paris Saint-German player, who seems to like making Harry’s job much more difficult than it has to be.</p><p>OR  </p><p>  <em>A self-indulgent AU that takes place over the summer of 2015. 18 year old Harry hates pining after people he can't have, and 23 year old footballer Louis loves flirting with people even though it never means anything.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The one with how it all begins

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Bring Your Body Baby (I Could Bring You Fame)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4608903) by [ameliestrike](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameliestrike/pseuds/ameliestrike)
  * Translation into Русский available: [Bring Your Body Baby (I Could Bring You Fame)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4526337) by [malishka1011](https://archiveofourown.org/users/malishka1011/pseuds/malishka1011)



> This is the seventh Larry story I'm writing. I'm excited about it since this idea has been on my mind for quite a while now.
> 
> First and foremost I should warn everyone that I am not from Europe, so I don't really know how soccer (football) works. I've done my research ([this post](http://ygtsyffaw.tumblr.com/post/116278678460/a-guide-to-understanding-part-i-footie-rules) has helped me a lot) so I know the main parts of it. Some of the Manchester United players will appear in the story even though all I know about them is their name and position (thank you Google). So I apologize in advance if I get my facts wrong (don't hesitate to point them out to me!) and if this whole football thing seems a bit too unrealistic. 
> 
> Things I don't know (but hope that some of you will be able to tell me) about the Manchester United team:
> 
> 1\. Is Louis van Gaal also their trainer? Or is it just Ryan Giggs?  
> 2\. Is his office in their training complex?
> 
> More questions might come up as the story progresses, but after my research these are the current questions I don't really know the answer to.
> 
> Second of all, Harry is eighteen in this story (although he looks like [19 year old Harry in real life](http://theboyfriends.tumblr.com/post/61040264064/nineteen-year-old-harry)). Louis is five years older than him so I think it's okay for me to write this since Harry is legal and everything that happens between them will be consensual. 
> 
> Here is the [PLAYLIST](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby) for the fic and the [AU Meme](http://www.theboyfriendstagram.com/post/123382289453/bring-your-body-baby-i-can-bring-you-fame) ! You can also check some posts that inspire me and fit the story [here](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/tagged/bybb-things).
> 
> Watch Trailer 1 [here](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/post/123743416413/ramwnnoodlesako-so-i-made-this-trailer-for) and Trailer 2 [here ](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/post/123989705938/what-did-you-say-your-name-was-louis-asks)!
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading and for further information you can find me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) :)
> 
> Title from The Weeknd's Wicked Games.
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>   
>   
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm excited about posting because because I absolutely loved writing it! It took me less than two days to put the whole 5.4k chapter together :)
> 
> Let me know what you think of it and make sure you read the end notes !
> 
> Happy reading :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

“So tell me again what we’re going to do this summer?”

Harry turns his head to stare at Niall over his sunglasses.

“Nothing. We’re doing absolutely _nothing_.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” Niall smirks and leans back in his lounge chair.

Barbara huffs in disagreement. “We’ve been doing nothing for the past week and I’m positive I might be coming down with sunstroke.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic Barb, we just graduated less then a week ago. We deserve this.” Harry says as he reaches over to grab his drink from the table.

“Harry, _please._ We both know that by ‘doing nothing’ you mean sitting around the pool all day drinking your mojitos and ogling the new pool boy from a distance.”

The three of them turn their heads at the same time towards the mentioned person, who’s currently bending over with the skim net, trying to retrieve whatever fell and didn’t belong in the pool.

“He’s not even a pool _boy -_ I mean, look at those tattoos. He’s a pool _man._ A _fit_ pool man.” Harry says, not taking his eyes off of him.

His dad had hired Zayn two weeks prior when they finally took down the pool cover. Besides summer, the reason for uncovering the pool (the reason his father wasn’t aware of - Harry had told him that he wanted the pool uncovered and maintained because summer was about to begin and he wanted a few more weeks of relaxation before Uni) was the post-graduation party Harry threw and invited more than half of the people in his year.

A party which resulted with the damaging of their glass coffee table in the living room, the window in his father’s room, and a hole in the wall in the hallway downstairs.

Blame Harry for thinking he would be cool if he ‘went out with a bang’, as Niall had put it, so he threw the party when his father wasn’t home. As soon as he came home though, and saw the chaotic state his house was in, he immediately retired his promise to buy Harry a car if he gets into Uni.

“If you want a car, you’re going to have to find a job and save up, because after the stunt you pulled yesterday, I’m not going to give you a single penny this summer.” His father had told him when he sat him down in the kitchen as soon as he came home.

“What about Uni? How will I live in Salford if you don’t-“

“I will pay for your education and housing, but I will not encourage your rebellious behavior.”

Harry rolled his eyes at the expression. Honestly, with his good grades, perfect behavior (well, at least to his father’s knowledge), and the hours he’s spent studying instead of partying, he’s been a goody-two-shoes all his life.

So after a long lecture about why what Harry did was completely wrong, his father had announced that he’s leaving for a business trip to Paris in two days and that he should call his mother in case he wanted to go spend some time during the vacation at her home in Holmes Chapel.

And now here he is; sitting on a lounger with his best friends, sipping Mojitos (because apparently _Zayn_ \- even his name sounded good – also knew how to bartend and mix up a few drinks) and ogling the fit pool boy.

The last thing he wants is to get a job, but if he wants a car and money to go out with his friends at least once a week, he’s going to have to look for one soon.

“Harry, I think you’ve had too many mojitos. Do you even know how old he is?” Barbara questions, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Um, like twenty-three or something like that.”

“That’s five years older than you.”

“I’m legal!” He protests, maybe a bit too loud because Zayn is turning his head to look at them curiously.

Harry buries his face in his hands and groans. _Great_ , now he’s made a fool out of himself in front of Zayn too.

“Well, you were seventeen when you dated a twenty year old, so I don’t think you should be talking.” Niall says to Barbara, trying to defend Harry.

“Shut up already.”

“You shut up.”

“That’s a really mature comeback, when was the last time you used it, third grade?” She sarcastically asks Niall.

“Will the two just fuck and get it over with? The sexual tension is killing me.” Harry interrupts with a smirk, trying to mask his embarrassment.

When Niall and Barbara start to get annoying, Harry knows that the best way to shut them up is to hint that something sexual should happen between them.

All three of them know that it’s something that should have happened a long time ago, even though Niall and Barbara both deny any type of attraction they might feel for each other. And Harry’s pretty sure Niall feels a little more than just attraction for her, but he’s too stubborn to admit it.

It’s funny and at the same time sad to watch them pining over each other and being stubborn about what’s actually going on. Ever since Barbara broke up with Tom a year ago, her and Niall have been flirting/fighting/making innuendos non stop.

Sometimes Harry feels like the third wheel even though they’re not actually a couple and they constantly claim that the other one is annoying.

“When does your father get home?” Niall asks, trying to change the subject.

“Later today. He called me before he boarded the plane an hour ago, so we’ve got a few more hours.”

“A few more hours of doing nothing. What a relief.” Barbara says.

“If you don’t like spending your time like this, then what are you still doing here?”

Harry rolls his eyes.

_Here they go again._

“I’m going to ask Zayn for another mojito.” He announces and gets up from the lounger. Zayn has finished cleaning the pool by now and has gone inside, probably to change into his normal clothes and leave for the day.

“Mhm, suuure.”

“Fuck off.” He says and flips Niall off.

He finds Zayn in the kitchen, leaning against the island counter as he types on his phone.

“Can you make me another mojito before you leave?”

Zayn looks up and Harry is once again in awe of how inhumanly beautiful he can be.

“Well, now that I know you’re legal, you can have as many mojitos as you’d like.” Zayn teases and Harry might be wrong, but - is Zayn flirting with him? Or does he just like to tease?

Harry sits down in a chair and watches Zayn go through the cabinets to find the proper ingredients. Apparently he isn’t planning on going outside and prepare it at the pool bar.

“So, are you in Uni right now or?”

“Yes.” Zayn answers without looking at him.

“You’re twenty-three though.”

“Then why’d you ask?”

“Just curious to see why you’d need a pool boy job.”

_Who the fuck says that??_

“I used to be an English major but decided to change to Arts two years ago because I just wasn’t feeling it. And I need this job because it actually pays better than dealing -um, what they paid me at my last job at the restaurant.”

“My dad likes to overspend sometimes.”

“I’m not complaining.” Zayn laughs and Harry is pretty sure it might be the best thing he’s ever heard. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You’re going to Uni in a couple of months.”

“Yeah, in Salford. ‘m gonna study law.”

“Shit, that’s a lot of work.”

“I know.” Harry says, almost whining. He knows it’s a lot to learn but it’s going to be worth it; at least his father says so. He always says “Harry, I come from a family that didn’t have a penny to their name, but I studied hard for what I wanted and look at me now.” Then he’d gesture towards the nearest thing that would point out the fact that he’s a successful international lawyer with a lot of money.

“Why not Oxford though?”

“I didn’t get in.” Harry tells him, a bit ashamed. It’s true; his scores weren’t enough for him to get in, but he’s lowkey glad about it because going there would mean suicide for his already lacking social life.

Zayn doesn’t say anything after Harry’s information. He finishes the mojito a minute later and hands the glass to Harry.

“Try to tone down the alcohol, though.” He suggests.

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Harry smiles.

Zayn then tells him that he’s going to head home and that he’ll be back tomorrow as usual.

When Harry gets back outside, Niall and Barbara are arguing about where she should have her birthday. It’s a tie between her own house and some pub a few blocks away.

“Why am I even arguing with you anyway? It’s _my_ birthday so _I_ get to make the decision.”

Harry sighs and sits down, facing them.

“It’s still a month away, so I don’t think you need to argue about that right now.”

“Do what you want. I’m going in the pool, it’s getting too hot.” Niall says and stands up before he runs towards the pool and jumps in.

“What an idiot.” Barbara huffs and reaches for her magazine.

Harry throws Barbara a knowing look that she pretends not to see, and then engrosses himself in his phone. He’s not sure when - although he hopes it’s going to be soon because it’s getting annoyingly obvious – Niall and Barbara will drop the frenemies act, but once they will, he’ll make sure to give them hell for it after all the fights he’s had to put up with.

-

His father gets home three hours later in a happy mood, which is unusual and means he either has good news that concern him, or bad news that concern Harry.

“I got you a job.” Is the first thing he says when he sees Harry sitting on the couch in the living room with his laptop perched on his lap.

Barbara and Niall left an hour ago, so it’s just him, a cup of lemonade, and their Manchester Terrier, Ernie.

“Hello to you too.” Harry sarcastically tells his dad as he watches him pull on his tie.

“Don’t be a smartarse.”

“What job?”

Getting straight to the point is always the best option when his father starts to actually get into the father role he knows he’s supposed to be playing, but usually fails at.

“So today I had to do a bit of legal work in Paris for the manager at Manchester United, and we got to talking. As you know, the Premiere League is starting in over a month, so they’ve transferred a player from Saint-Germain to Manchester United. But that’s beside the point.”

Of _course_ Harry knows the Premiere League is starting on the 8 th of August. He’s been watching it ever since he was five and his father actually made time to bring him to games. He knew the manager quite well (what with being his attorney and all) so they always had the best seats.

That was until he turned fourteen and his parents got divorced, which caused his father to bury himself into his work, and his mother to move back to her hometown. His sister Gemma didn’t really mind and wasn’t affected by it too much because that was the year she left to study in Sheffield.

“Anyway, once all the paperwork for the transfer were done, Van Gaal asked me about you and Gemma. One thing led to another and he propositioned me a job for you at his club.”

“Wait. You want me to work for Manchester _United_?” Harry asks. This might be the first time in years he wanted to hug his father.

“Louis Van Gaal told me that they could offer you a job as the water boy for the summer since they’re going to be training nearly every day. Your job starts on Monday. That is, if you want to do this.”

“Wha- of course I do!” Harry exclaims.

“Great. I’ll email you the details of your work schedule that Louis sent me after I order takeout. Do you want Chinese or pizza? Or something else?”

“Chinese is fine.”

“Great.”

His father turns to leave when Harry stops him.

“Wait. Who’s the player they’re transferring? And who are they replacing?”

“They’re replacing Jones with Tomlinson.”

“Tomlinson who?” Harry dumbly asks.

“You haven’t heard about Louis Tomlinson? He scored the goal that won them the French Cup. They’re saying that it might be the best acquisition for the team since Rooney.”

“I doubt that.”

“Look him up, he’s quite impressive. I met him today in Paris for the paperwork.” His father tells him before he completely disappears out of the living room.

Harry frowns but opens a new Safari window on his laptop so he can look up the new transfer. He types ‘louis tomlinson’ into the search bar, and is immediately surprised by the suggestions.

_Louis Tomlinson height_

_Louis Tomlinson age_

_Louis Tomlinson sexual orientation_

_Louis Tomlinson Instagram_

_Louis Tomlinson net worth_

He clicks on the first result, which is a Wikipedia page. The picture on the side isn’t half bad, Harry notices. It’s a picture of Louis in a football jacket, smiling for the camera at what seems to be a press conference.

**_Louis William Tomlinson_ ** _(born **Louis Troy Austin** ; 24 December 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays for Paris Saint-Germain. He has played most of his career as a midfielder, but he has also been used as a striker on several occasions._

Okay, so Louis is five years older than him and incredibly fit. Harry reads a bit more about him; about how he started playing for the Doncaster Rovers when he was seventeen - the youngest on their team, and then quickly made history when he became the youngest person under 20 to score the most goals in a match. He got transferred to Paris Saint-Germain when he was eighteen, and has played there ever since. His salary at Paris Saint-Germain was 13 million Euros a year. Impressive.

Harry moves on to the News column and sees a few articles about the transfer and how Louis is called ‘probably the best acquisition since Rooney’ just as his father had put it. It’s estimated that his value for the transfer is almost thirty-seven million pounds. Further articles are about him being out and about at clubs and leaving with different girls, and articles speculating his sexuality after some blurry images with him and some bloke emerged. Apparently he’s quite popular in football, and Harry wonders how come he’s never heard of him.

So he calls Niall.

“Hi, Harry, what’s up?”

“Have you ever heard of Louis Tomlinson?“

“Louis Tomlinson! Yeah, he’s being transferred to Manchester United. What a legend.”

“How come I’ve never heard of him?”

“Probably because you watch more TLC than ESPN.”

“Haha.”

“Why the question, though?”

Harry shifts the laptop on his thighs. “Van Gaal told my father I could have a job as a water boy for the team.”

“Are you fucking serious? Ugh! You’re so lucky to have a dad who’s a lawyer! The best thing that comes from my mother’s job is an employee discount at Burberry.” Niall groans.

“And you know I love you for that.”

“When do you start?”

“In three days.”

“You need to get me in somehow! Do you think you’ll get some kind of free access to the best seats at all their games? That would be fuckin’ amazing!”

Harry rolls his eyes and after a few more minutes of talking about the new job and going out to celebrate next week, he hangs up to creep a bit more.

He finds a press conference video with Louis and Van Gaal about the transfer that was posted two days ago and watches it. Louis’ voice is higher than expected, and Harry finds it extremely appealing for some reason.

When his laptop warns him about the low battery percentage, he lets Ernie out in the back garden, and then walks upstairs to his room.

Later that night when he browses his Instagram, he finds himself looking up Louis’ name. The first hit is a verified account with over five million followers, louist91, so Harry clicks on it. There are some pictures of Louis in clubs, with his mates, pictures of his food, and of him playing football.

He likes a couple of them (all of them), follows him, and then goes to sleep.

-

**_Niall:_ ** _TAKE PICTURES OF EVERYTHING YOU SEE_

**_Barbara:_ ** _ask de Gea if his single pls!!!_

**_Niall:_ ** _shut up he has a girlfriend_

**_Niall:_ ** _a blonde one_

**_Niall:_ ** _ARE YOU THERE YET_

**_Barbara:_ ** _fuck off_

**_Niall:_ ** _TAKE PICTURES OF EVERYTHING YOU SEE_

Harry shakes his head and exits WhatsApp - who thought it would be a good idea to make a group with Niall and Barbara? He texts his father to let him know he just arrived at the training complex.

He’s not sure how everything is supposed to go down. Where does he enter? What does he say? Where does he go? What does he do?

He enters the building and walks up to the reception. “Hi, I’m, uh, Harry Styles? I’m here for my job?”

The lady behind the desk looks up from her computer to look him up and down. “What job?”

“As the new water boy?”

“Hold on, I’ll get Mr. Van Gaal on the line for you.”

She types a number on the phone at her desk before putting it up to her ear. “Yes. There’s someone here for Mr. Van Gaal. A Harry Styles? Okay, I’ll hold.”

She checks her nails as she waits, and looks up when she gets an answer. “Good morning, Mr. Van Gaal. Harry Styles is here to start his new job? Alright. Thank you.”

She hangs up and looks at Harry. “He’s in his office on the first floor. Third door to the left. You can take the stairs there or the elevator.”

Harry thanks her with a nod, and then walks towards the stairs.

His father’s friend is in his office, talking to someone on the phone. When he sees Harry, he ends the conversation and smiles at him. It’s weird to see him smiling, because every time Harry has seen his favorite team’s manager on TV and at games were accompanied by a frown.

“Nice to see you, Harry, have a seat.”

Harry obliges and sits down on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“We’re starting training in a couple of hours, but we have a meeting with the whole team in ten minutes upstairs. I’m going to need to get their coffee orders and anything else they might need from the coffee shop down the street.”

Harry waits for him to continue when Van Gaal looks for something in his desk drawer.

“Here’s your job contract. You should read through it while I take a call and then tell me if there’s something you don’t agree with.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Oh, none of that. Your father and I have known each other for too long for you to be calling me sir. You can call me Louis. Same for the players, there’s no need to call them by their last names.”

Like Harry would ever do that. It’s too weird and he knows he’s just too polite. He’s always going to think of him as Van Gaal.

While Van Gaal talks on the phone, Harry reads through his two-page contract. There aren’t that many rules to follow; he just has to agree to be at the training grounds and at the matches on time and when he’s solicited, he must call in if he’s ever going to miss a day or if something comes up, and under no circumstances is he to talk about confidential information that might be discussed or overheard in the conference room, the locker rooms, or on the pitch.

His job description is simple: be ready to hand water, towels, and anything else the players might need if requested for the next three months.

The contract is signed by the time Van Gaal finishes the conversation.

“No questions?” he asks as he takes the paper out of Harry’s hands and places it back in the desk drawer.

“No si- Louis.”

“Great. We should be heading to the conference room now, my guys have already arrived.”

They take the elevator to the next floor and Van Gaal opens the door to a room made out of glass windows.

Harry thinks he might faint because every single player of his favorite football team is seated around a long marble table in their training equipment. Ryan Giggs is also there. He feels intimidated by the fact that everyone is staring at him, probably wondering what this barely legal boy must be doing in their conference room.

“Before we start, I’d like everyone to meet Harry Styles, our new water boy.”

“We have a agua boy? Incredíble!” De Gea exclaims and stands up to shake his hand. Harry’s always liked him the most.

“Introductions can be made later, let’s get to business right now. Where’s Tomlinson?” Van Gaal asks and sits down at the end of the table.

“He’s on his way.” Herrera says.

As if on cue, the glass door opens and Louis Tomlinson steps in with an apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry for being late lads. Got caught up in traffic.” He apologizes and sits down on the empty seat next to Van Gaal. He throws a short look in Harry’s direction before he turns his head to shake Van Gaal’s hand, and then Riggs’.

Louis Tomlinson is even more beautiful up close, Harry observes as he awkwardly stands next to De Gea’s seat.

“Before we get down to work, Harry’s going to take a quick trip to the coffee shop in case anyone wants anything.” Van Gaal says and motions for Harry to come over so he can hand him a notepad and a pen.

Harry takes them with shaky hands before he circles the table for orders. He gets to Louis’ order last.

“Youthberry tea for me, please.” Louis smiles, looking up at him. “Isn’t it going to be a bit difficult to carry twenty different drinks here?”

_How fit can someone be???_

“He’ll manage.” Van Gaal says. “You have a credit card waiting for you at the reception desk.”

Harry takes it as his cue to leave. There’s a Starbucks right down the street, and Harry feels proud of himself for maintaining his calm in the conference room as he struts down towards the shop with the credit card in his hand.

It takes about half an hour for everything to be done, and he spends it by texting Niall and Barbara about it.

**_The SQUAD (43 new messages)_ **

He opens their group chat and doesn’t even bother to read through the argument Niall and Barbara were having while he was gone.

**_Harry:_ ** _I’m at Starbucks to get them coffee and tea_

**_Niall:_ ** _HOW IS IT??? did u meet them????_

**_Harry:_ ** _yea all of them were in the conference room_

**_Barbara:_ ** _who orders tea from starbucks??_

**_Niall:_ ** _u do_

**_Niall_ ** _: all the time_

**_Harry:_ ** _Louis_

**_Niall:_ ** _Van Gaal drinks TEA?? Baaghhahaha_

**_Harry_ ** _: no, Tomlinson_

**_Niall:_ ** _oooh how is he?_

**_Harry:_ ** _nice_

**_Barbara:_ ** _nice as in polite nice or as in I want him to fuck me into the sheets nice??_

**_Harry:_ ** _both_

**_Niall: (innuendo emoji)(innuendo emoji)_ **

**_Harry_ ** _: stop it’ll never happen :))_

**_Niall:_ ** _never say never !!_

**_Barbara:_ ** _here he goes with his Bieber crap again_

Harry locks his phone because he knows another argument is about to go down, and it’s just his luck that his long order is ready.

It’s really difficult to walk back to the complex with four drink carriers in hand, but he manages to also make it up the stairs and push the glass door to the conference room open with his shoulder without spilling anything.

He places the drinks on the table next to David (he feels slightly more comfortable around him now that they shook hands than with the other players), and starts handing out the cups.

Thank God he also said the names when he ordered, or else there would be chaos right now and he’d be fired.

“You’ve got big hands.” Louis observes in a hushed tone with a smirk playing on his lips as Van Gaal keeps talking about team strategy and how the Premiere League should go down.

“Uh… thanks.” Harry says, hoping that his cheeks didn’t turn red because they’re definitely heating up.

He’s not sure what he should do once he’s gotten rid of the trash, and thankfully Van Gaal motions for him to sit down on one of the empty chairs at the table.

For the rest of the meeting Harry thinks of Louis’ statement about his hands, and wonders if he was flirting with him. Probably not. Harry has a tendency to sometimes look too much into things and overthink, so it was probably nothing.

When the meeting finishes, Harry is snapped back to reality by Van Gaal’s voice telling him that they’re heading out on the field for a two-hour training session.

Harry follows the team like a lost dog, and stops right before the locker room, not sure if he’s allowed to enter.

“Why are you stopping?” Herrera asks him as he holds the door open.

“Uh, am I allowed inside? I mean, I don’t know how or what I’m supposed to do-“ Harry stutters, and wishes that the ground could just swallow him whole right now.

“Of course you are, come on! You’re technically part of the team.”

Harry feels a huge wave of relief as he follows him inside. Giggs tells him that the towels and water bottles are in a small closet next to his office.

It’s not hard to find the closet, because there are only two doors in the locker room; the one leading to the showers, and the one leading to the pitch. He finds two giant towel piles and a load of water bottles on the shelves, so he fills up a cart with both items and pushes it out the door.

The locker room is empty, which means that the players are already outside warming up.

Giggs and Van Gaal are having a chat by the benches, so he rolls the cart over there and stops next to them. He feels embarrassed asking, but he has to because his job is way too easy for him to be paid with 250 pounds a week.

“So, am I just supposed to hand them towels and water when they come over?”

The two men stop talking to look at him.

“Yes.” Van Gaal responds. “But make sure to write their names on the bottles so they don’t get mixed up.”

“Alright.”

Harry goes back inside to find a sharpie. He gets one from the receptionist who he’s pretty sure is already sick of his face.

He writes their last names on the water bottles, and then arranges them on the cart before he sits down on the bench and waits. Is he supposed to just watch? Isn’t it too awkward? He decides that for a thousand pounds a month it’s pretty worth it.

**_The SQUAD_ ** _**(20 new messages)**_

****

He scrolls through the messages without even bothering to read them.

**_Niall:_ ** _Harry I c u reading the messages !! what r u doing?_

**_Harry:_ ** _watching the team warming up_

**_Niall:_ ** _SNAPCHAT_

Harry sighs and opens Snapchat. He pretends to take a selfie as he films the team doing jumping jacks over by the gate.

Niall responds with a thumbs up selfie in his bedroom, and Barbara with a hand over her mouth and the text ‘pls send me more of De Gea thx’.

After two more requested snaps Harry decides it’s enough risky business for the day so he checks his Instagram before pocketing his phone.

At Giggs’ request, he hands half of the players yellow vests so they can play in two different teams and see how they work together with a new player.

As far as Harry can see, they’re doing great and Louis is definitely a great asset to the team. Literally.

Harry hopes he isn’t being too obvious as he ogles Louis’ ass in his football kit. Who can blame him, really? It looks great when he stretches, or does squats. Especially when he runs with the ball in front of him.

He doesn’t realize he’s staring when Louis comes over with a breathless smirk on his face and stops a meter away from him.

“Hi.” Harry says, and he immediately wants to slap himself.

“Hey.”

“Can I, um- help you?”

“You’re our water boy, right?”

“Right.”

The whole conversation is on a whole level of awkward. At least on Harry’s part; Louis seems to be having quite a laugh about him being flustered, judging by the smile on his face.

“Oh. Water. Shit. Sorry, right.” He stutters and stands up with flaming cheeks to hand him his bottle.

Louis doesn’t break their eye contact as he opens it and takes two long gulps, then closes the cap and puts it back on the cart. Harry doesn’t even know what he’s more focused on; the way Louis’ lips look around the bottle and how his cheeks hollow as he drinks, or the fact that Louis is almost a head shorter than him yet still incredibly intimidating.

“What did you say your name was?” Louis asks, startling him.

“Harry.”

“Well, Harry, I’m glad you’re enjoying the _view_.”

Louis turns around without saying anything else, and Harry watches him with a gaped mouth. He’s pretty sure that all the self-respect he had left in his body just left him completely. Louis Tomlinson just caught him staring at his ass, what an embarrassment.

The training ends around three, and there’s talk about going out for drinks to celebrate Louis’ transfer while Harry throws the towels in the laundry basket and the empty bottles in the trash.

He makes himself busy with his phone after that, not sure how he’s supposed to leave. Does he just exit the locker room? Does he say goodbye and then exit? Does he wait for the whole team to leave? He probably has to, since some of them just took a shower and he’ll have to take care of those towels too.

Half an hour later, everyone is dressed up in their casual clothes, and Harry can’t help but look at Louis in his black skinny jeans that are cuffed around the ankles, and how good his back muscles look through the sheer shirt he’s wearing.

When he meets Louis’ eyes after a onceover, he knows he’s been caught. Again.

Fuck his life.

When he team leaves the locker room, he follows. He almost doesn’t see Louis walking up next to him as they exit the building.

“Harry, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you enjoy your first day?” Louis casually asks as they follow the whole team down the street towards the first taxi station. They’re all going to get taxis to go to a pub while Harry will get one to go home and never leave his room again after today.

“Yeah. You?”

Conversation. Conversation is good, although he’s not sure how he’s going to come back from the way he’s embarrassed himself today.

“Definitely. Although I’m sure you enjoyed it more.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t the one trying to sneak a few photos of sweaty mean stretching.” Louis says nonchalantly before he stops in front of a taxi with two other teammates.

Harry can’t say anything; he just stares as Louis gets into the car with a short ‘See you tomorrow’. He’s still in shock when he gets into his own taxi and tells the driver his address.

When he gets home he lets himself fall face first into his bed with a groan.

Who thought this job would be a good idea? And why did his job description fail to mention that he has to put up with an incredibly attractive, out of bunds twenty-three year old who probably thinks he’s a pathetic teenager?

If he didn’t know it before, he definitely knows it now.

He’s so incredibly fucked. And not even in the good way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter and whether I should continue the story in the comments :D
> 
> ! Next chapter will be up on July 18th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	2. The one with too many shots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone likes this chapter as much as I loved writing it :)
> 
> Let me know what you think of it and make sure you read the end notes !
> 
> Happy reading :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

“Harry.”

“Go away.”

“It’s nine in the morning, you have to get to work at ten.” Niall says as he closes the door to Harry’s room behind him.

“I’m never going to leave this bed. Tell my dad to tell Van Gaal that I’m not coming back.”

“Are you fuckin’ crazy?!” Niall exclaims and kneels on the bed, pulling the duvet off of Harry’s head. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Sadly, no one for a while.”

Niall cracks up for a moment before he retakes his serious role of concerned friend.

“Seriously, Harry.”

Harry groans and rolls on his bed, rubbing his eyes as he stares up at Niall. “How did you get in my house?”

“Zayn let me in. Don’t try to change the subject.”

“Ugh, fine.” He sits up. “Let me get dressed first and we can talk in the kitchen over coffee.”

Niall waits for him to take a quick shower and put on some clothes, before they make their way downstairs. They sit down at the table in the kitchen with a plate of croissants and a cup of coffee. They like pretending they’re grown ups.

“So, Louis Tomlinson, right?” Harry starts with his mouth full. “I don’t know if you’ve ever seen him in real life, probably not, but he’s got the best ass in the world. And he’s fucking fit.”

“And you don’t want to go back to work because…?”

“Because he caught me staring at his ass. _And_ sending you snaps. He _teased_ me about it, Niall. I’m so embarrassed I don’t even- I can’t.”

“Are you serious? Since he doesn’t seem to be creeped out by you, it means he likes the attention.”

Harry buries his face in his hands. “I obviously can’t make eye contact with him ever again. And he’s got amazing eyes. Like his bum. And face.”

“Jesus, Harry, stop sulking. You know what you need?”

“Enlighten me.” Harry **sarcastically** replies and stands up to put his coffee mug in the trash so Stephanie, their maid, can clean it up when she gets here.

“You need to get out of the house, have some fun. I have to go now or else my mother will kill me for not getting her laundry, but it’s settled. Group outing on Friday.”

“But I-“ Harry starts, not sure whether he wants to go out or not. It would probably do him good, but at the same time, he’s not feeling like being sociable right now. Or for the rest of his life basically.

“I can’t hear you!” Niall yells and slams the front door behind him.

Zayn comes into the kitchen with a smile on his face. He’s shirtless, once again, and Harry wonders what his life has become. Since when does he have not one, but two crushes? Since when does he get to be around fit older guys? He’s never had so much luck and at the same time bad luck in his entire life.

“Good morning.” Zayn greets and takes out a glass to pour water for himself. “No mojitos today?”

“Nope. I have to get to my job in-“ he checks his watch “five minutes. Shit.”

He stands up from the table and hurries back upstairs to grab his phone, keys, and a pair of converse as he calls a taxi. He’s ten minutes late when he enters the complex, and the receptionist, whose name he learned is Eleanor, looks at him apologetically.

“Did they already start?” he asks her in a rush.

“A few of them arrived a few minutes ago, but Mr. Van Gaal and Mr. Giggs aren’t here yet. You can relax, they don’t start training until ten. You have fifteen more minutes.”

“Well, they told me to be here every day at half past nine.”

“For good measure, but they start at ten.”

Harry exhales and searches for some money in his pocket so he can go to the Starbucks down the street and buy himself another coffee. He’s definitely going to need it.

When he walks back with the coffee in hand, he sees a figure against the wall of the building with a phone in his hand and a cigarette in another. He recognizes Louis Tomlinson as he gets closer, and finds himself stuck. Should he say hi? Should he just walk past?

Louis makes the decision for him when he looks up and sees him.

“Harry the water boy. Hello.”

“Um. Hi. What are you doing?”

_What are you doing???? Seriously?_

“I’m good. Smoking, as you can see.”

_Yes, he can. Why the fuck would you ask someone what they were doing. Jesus Christ._

“You shouldn’t smoke, you know. Not good for the lungs and all that.”

_Oh my God shut up_

Louis raises an eyebrow. “I can count on you not to tell Louis, right?”

“Of course. I sometimes- I smoke sometimes too. Like, occasionally. At parties.”

Now would be a good time for a bus to deviate from the road and hit him, he thinks as he continues to stare at Louis.

“Do they even give you cigarettes at the store?” Louis asks and Harry feels ashamed. He’s definitely being made fun of.

“Yeah, they do.”

“How old are you again?”

“Legal.” He blurts out before he can stop himself. 

Jesus Christ.

It’s settled. He’s moving to China.

“That’s good then.” Louis smiles and lets his cigarette fall on the concrete before he steps on it with his Vans.

He looks back up at Harry, who’s currently thinking about how quickly he can pack once he gets home, and how much a plane ticket would cost him. What about food? He doesn’t like rice. But Chinese takeout is his favorite. It’s probably going to be a bit hard to find a place to live since there are about 1.3 billion people currently living there, but he’ll manage. Wouldn’t it be better if he moved to Mexico? The food there is great. Living conditions are good from what he’s heard.

Louis says something that he doesn’t quite catch because he’s too engrossed in his thoughts.

“What?”

“Shall we go inside? I don’t want to be late two days in a row.”

“Yeah, sure. Sorry. I zoned out for a moment.”

“I have to get my kit from the car, hold on.” Louis tells him and Harry follows him as he walks towards a fucking black Porsche Panamera Hybrid to retrieve his Adidas bag from the passengers seat.

“Close your mouth.” Louis **cockily** says as he locks the car over his shoulder and walks past Harry.

“Wha- you have a Hybrid. That’s wow.”

“Got her last year.”

“It’s a her?” Harry asks and follows him like a puppy towards the locker rooms.

“I guess.”

The guys are already changing, and Harry feels definitely better when they all greet him and shake his hand.

He still doesn’t know a way to come back from all the embarrassment he’s accumulated in the past 24 hours. He tries to busy himself with the loading of the towels and the water bottles in the cart, taking longer as usual so he won’t have to face the team before they get out on the pitch.

They’re all laughing and talking loudly which makes Harry feel out of place because he’s at least two years younger than them so they must be considering him a loser who’s not worthy of their attention.

“Hey, Curly, we’re going out on the pitch already, you comin’? Or do you want us to die of dehydration?” Louis says in a teasing voice as he opens the door to the closet. He startles Harry, who almost drops his phone.

“Jesus, you scared me.”

“Why are you in here if you’ve finished loading the cart? Are you hiding for us?”

Harry bites the inside of his cheek and pushes himself off the wall.

“Uh. No.”

“Well then, it’s time to come out of the closet.” Louis smirks and Harry blushes.

“I came out of the closet two years ago.” Harry mutters as he follows Louis out, pushing the cart in front of him.

“What?”

Louis looks up at him surprised as they walk towards the door that leads outside.

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

Harry feels hot under Louis’ inspecting glare, and as soon as they reach the pitch, he busies himself with naming the bottles so he won’t have to look at the boys stretching.

Jesus, he’s a lot younger than them yet he’s the pervy one. He drops on the bench ashamed and focuses back on his phone when he’s done.

He doesn’t even dare to open Snapchat anymore so he can avoid the embarrassment later when Louis will point it out to him.

In spite of being careful not to look like he’s taking a photo (even though he’s not), Louis still comes over half an hour later with a smile on his face and his hair clinging to his forehead.

“What’s wrong? No snaps today?”

“Uh- no. Sorry about that. It wasn’t fair to invade your privacy like that yesterday but my friend is a big fan and-“ he stutters when Louis stops him by grabbing the phone out of his hand.

Harry watches him in awe as he opens an app and takes a picture of himself doing cross-eyes. Louis grabs a bottle after he gives the phone back to Harry, and then runs back to his teammates when he’s finished with drinking half of it.

He checks his phone when Louis has his back to him, and he finds six messages from Niall.

**_Niall:_ ** _WHAT_

**_Niall:_ ** _TOMLINSON JUST SENT ME A PHOTO OF HIMSELF FROM YOUR SNAP_

**_Niall:_ ** _WHERE ARE YOU!????_

**_Niall:_ ** _WHAT HAPPENED???_

**_Niall:_ ** _what are you doing?_

**_Niall:_ ** _Harry are you alive **?**_

Harry sighs and texts him that Louis took his phone and that everything is alright. Well, everything except for his morals and self-restraint.

-

For the rest of the week, Harry tries to stay out of Louis’ way as much as possible. And although it’s surprising even to him, he’s actually looking forward to going out with Niall and Barbara at The Temple Bar in a couple of hours.

He’s missed going out with friends for a drink and a smoke, and now is definitely a better time than any.

“You ready to get fucking mortal?!” Niall yells as he appears at Harry’s bedroom door with grin taking up his entire face.

Harry looks up at him from where he’s standing next to his closet in his briefs.

“I don’t know what to wear.” Harry whines as he holds two shirts up to his face.

“We’re not going to a fashion show for fuck’s sake! We’re going out to get drunk.”

Harry sighs, nodding in agreement. He places the shirt back on their rack and pulls out a white tank top.

“’m gonna wear this then. I checked the weather and it says there’s gonna be almost thirty degrees tonight.”

Niall rolls his eyes and walks towards his bed to sit down on it.

Harry pulls the tank over his head and then picks out his black skinny jeans that make almost no room for his cock, but oh well.

“White converse or black converse?”

“Pink.” Niall replies, not looking up from his phone.

“You’re not helping at all.” Harry complains as he slides into his white ones. To top his outfit, he grabs the green beanie from the shelf.

“I’m not trying to help, I’m trying to speed up this process.”

Harry flips him off even though Niall can’t see it because he’s too focused on his phone, so he checks himself out in the body-length mirror next to his closet.

He bends down to ruffle to his hair and then flick it to the left before he turns around to face Niall.

“Alright, I’m ready.”

“Good, hold on. Barbara said she’ll meet us there because she’s at the hairdresser’s.”

“You’re talking to Barbara? What?”

Harry sits down next to him so he can read the conversation.

“I asked her when she was going to be there because we’re already ready, nothing interesting, mate.”

“Yeah, but the fact that you two actually managed to communicate like normal people is something new. Your relationship is progressing.” Harry teases.

“There’s no relationship.”

“Why are you getting so worked up about it then?”

Niall shrugs.

“Look, mate.” Harry says and places his hand on his thigh. “It’s just the two of us now. I know you like her.”

“Are you making a pass at me?” Niall asks.

“Stop changing the subject! I need you to be honest with me right now. Do you like her?”

Niall sighs. “Yeah. But she frustrates me and not only in the sexual way. Oh, wipe that fuckin’ grin off your face you tosser.”

“What grin? I’m glad I was right! Now all we have to do is get the two of you together.”

“We? Harry, no. There is never going to be anything more than a friendship.”

“Why not? Doesn’t the fact that I’m willing to become the third wheel _just_ for the two of you to get it on mean anything to you?”

“You’re already the third wheel.”

“I know.” Harry laughs. “But I want to make it official.”

“Well, she doesn’t like me anyway, so.”

“Oh, but I’ll find out, don’t worry.”

Niall rolls his eyes and checks the clock on his phone. “It’s time to go. I’ll call us a taxi.”

Harry’s father is downstairs in the kitchen with a cup of coffee next to his laptop, and even though he’s wearing slacks and a simple shirt, Harry knows he’s going to be up all night with paperwork.

“Where are you going?” he asks Harry as he helps himself to a twenty pound bill from his wallet.

“Out with Niall and Barbara.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know, in a few hours. Probably around ten or eleven.”

“Okay, take care.”

Harry smiles and turns around to join Niall at the door. The taxi hasn’t arrived yet, but they walk outside towards the gate anyway.

When they get to the bar, Barbara isn’t there yet so they take their usual places in the corner at a table for four.

“What are we drinking first?” Niall asks after they’d placed their phones on the table and have been handed menus.

“Beer? And then some shots.” Harry suggests. It’s what they usually do anyway, but he knows Niall gets very excited about drinking so he has to ask every time.

“Great. It’s better we order now anyway, Barbara never orders beer.”

“Is that a turn off?” Harry asks jokingly, glancing back towards the door.

“Not really.”

They order their beers, and this time when he’s asked for his id, he proudly shows it to the waitress. All the other times he’s been here when he was still underage and they wouldn’t serve him alcohol, so he had to be the one to drink water or mocktails while Niall and Barbara got themselves real cocktails and shots. They tried to buy something for Harry once, but the waitress was smarter than that and denied their request.

Which, in Harry’s opinion, is complete bullshit because you can’t drink one day before you turn eighteen, and then the next day suddenly a switch turns and you’re allowed to drink as much as you want? It doesn’t make sense.

“What are you thinking about?” Niall asks.

“The stupidity of the underage drinking law.”

Niall shakes his head and pulls out a cigarette pack from his jacket, which makes Harry do the same.

They light up their cigarettes at the same time and as soon as they take the first drags, they feel more relaxed.

“So anything new with the Tommo?”

“Tommo? Is that what you call Louis?”

“Yeah, I think it fits him.”

“You don’t even know him.” Harry says, exhaling the smoke in Niall’s face.

“Yeah, but I’ve watched some interviews and he’s a fun lad.”

Harry shrugs. “Nothing new. I’ve been avoiding him for the past week, ever since he pointed out the snaps to me and I made a weird allusion to the fact that I’m gay.”

“What?”

“He told me to come out of the closet when I was hiding from him, and I told him that I came out of it two years ago.”

“Ahahahha, what? Are you serious?” Niall asks between laughs.

“Yeah.” Harry buries his face in his palm. “I panicked. I don’t know, I think I was trying to be funny.”

“Jesus, what a wreck!”

“You’re not helping, you know. I don’t even look up at him when he comes to get water or a towel.”

“And you haven’t talked to anyone on the team since then?”

“Oh no, I’ve talked to some of them. De Gea is the friendliest. Or Herrera. He’s cute.”

“Yeah, my favorite’s always been David.”

“You talk about them like you know them.” Harry smiles.

“I hope I will some day. And now that I have a connection it’s possible.”

“I am your connection?”

“Who else?” Niall asks and grips into the glass as soon as the waitress sets them down. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.”

They bump their glasses together before they take a gulp.

A few minutes into their conversation, Niall abruptly stops and looks over Harry’s shoulder towards the door.

“Harry, mate.”

“What?”

“Don’t look, but some of the Manchester United players just walked in.”

Harry turns his head so fast he feels dizzy.

“I said don’t look!” Niall hisses and Harry almost chokes on the smoke of his cigarette when he sees Louis following David inside, and then closing the door behind him. He hasn’t spotted Harry yet, so he turns his head back and focuses on smoking instead of paying attention to the group.

It’s obvious that everyone in the local is aware of the team’s presence, because two men walk up to the bar to take a picture with them, Harry assumes.

“Oh, fuck.” Niall breathes over the brim of his glass.

“What? What’s going on?”

“They’re walking over here. There’s a vacant table behind us.

Harry looks at the empty table across the way, right behind them. The universe definitely thinks his entire existence is a joke. Probably.

He hears loud chatter coming closer, and then holds his breath when De Gea, Herrera, Rooney, Van Persie, McNair, and Louis himself (why doesn’t he use his last name?) sit down at the table. Even though he’s facing Harry, he still hasn’t spotted him because he’s doing something on his phone.

“Harry?” De Gea asks when they make eye contact. “How are you, chico?”

Chico? Oh God. It doesn’t help at all that Louis looks up too look at him with a playful smirk.

Harry smiles at De Gea- _David_ and hesitates when the goalkeeper gestures for him to come over. He gets up and walks over to shake their hands. They’re all happy to see him, which is odd because he hasn’t had that much interaction with them.

When Louis shakes his hand, he squeezes it and then goes back to his phone. Which, kind of disappoints Harry, but oh well. He wasn’t expecting anything else.

“Who’s your friend?” Herrera asks, looking at Niall.

“Oh, that’s-“

“Niall.” Niall responds for him in an excited tone as he stands up to shake their hands. “Nice to meet you. Big fan.”

After an awkward exchange of smiles, Harry tells them that they’re going to go back to their table.

“I might have died and gone to heaven.” Niall tells him as they return to their beers.

“I might already be in hell.” Harry replies and downs the rest of his drink in two long gulps.

Niall looks at him surprised, but doesn’t say anything.

Now that he’s aware of Louis’ presence, Harry’s eyes burn from how much he wants to look in that direction. He doesn’t want to be too obvious though, so he buries his head back into the menu.

He’s startled when he feels a hand on the back of his neck and looks up to see Barbara happily smiling as she sits down next to him.

“Hey, lads.”

She presses a kiss to Harry’s check and then starts talking about how long she had to wait to get her turn at the hairdresser.

“Wait. Is that David De Gea or are my eyes mistaken?” she whispers into Harry’s ear after Niall called the waitress over.

“Yeah, it is. Don’t stare too much.”

“Louis looks good.” She smiles and pulls back, looking down at the menu.

They order a round of Tequila shots, two more beers, and lemonade.

“Can I have one?” Barbara asks Niall, who looks at her surprised.

“Since when do you smoke?”

“You know I always smoke when we go out.”

“Not recently, you haven’t.”

“Dad, tell mom to calm her tits.” Barbara tells Harry and takes a cigarette from his pack instead.

Harry shoots Niall a look that means ‘what the fuck’, and Niall just flips him off.

When the shots get there, Harry has second thoughts about downing them, but eventually proceeds because _fuck it_.

It’s almost ten in the evening and it’s their last summer before Uni starts. Besides, the bar is already full so the atmosphere is the best it’s been in a long time.

“Whoa, Harry, I’ve never seen you drink like this.” Barbara laughs, wrapping her fingers around her glass of lemonade.

“Well, I have a reason now.”

“And is the reason by any chance standing a few meters away?”

“What? No. It’s our last summer before we have to do grown up shit, and I just got a job.”

Barbara eyes him suspiciously but doesn’t say anything else.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you guys! I got a job at H&M in Arndale!” she excitedly says.

“Am I the only one without a job here?” Niall complains and crosses his arms.

“Well, you could get off your lazy arse and look for one. There are plenty all round Manchester.” Barbara suggests and points at him with her cigarette.

“I wasn’t asking you, thank you very much.”

“Well, you could try the record store next to Arndale, I saw that they were looking for someone to take up morning shifts.” Harry says, trying to ease the tension that was undoubtedly going to start at some point. He just didn’t think they’d already go off so soon. It’s barely been fifteen minutes.

But he’s got bigger issues to focus on. For example, making coincidental eye contact with Louis from time to time. The older man didn’t seem to have any remorse winking at him or sucking on his straw a bit too obscenely for it to be normal and unintentional.

“I’m going to get another round of shots.” Harry says and stands up so abruptly he almost knocks his chair over. He needs more alcohol and he needs it now. “Anyone in?”

Niall and Barbara both agree that they’ve had enough, so Harry just shrugs and walks over to get in line at the bar.

He’s in the middle of deciding between Vodka and a Jägermeister shot, when he feels someone right behind him.

“Are you legal?” the voice belonging to the person who apparently has never heard of personal space speaks, and Harry turns around at that sound.

“Wha- yes. I’ve told you that before.”

“Just checking.” Louis smiles and steps back. “You shouldn’t be drinking and smoking this much at such a young age, you know.”

“Since when are you my father?” Harry asks, and it comes out way more confident and sharp than intended.

“I’m way too young to be your father.”

The sentence ‘but you’re not too old to be my sugar daddy’ is literally on the tip of Harry’s tongue.

“Or is that something you’re into?”

Harry’s mortified. “God, no!”

Louis starts laughing then. “Jesus mate, you should’ve seen your face. I’m only taking the piss.”

“Because I’m younger and I work for you?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Louis is serious now, and Harry can see that he’s sorry, so he shrugs and turns back around, proud of the fact that he can act so indifferent around such a fit man.

He might also have lied before, when Louis indirectly asked if he’s into older men; David Beckham, Zayn, and Patrick Dempsey are living proof of that. Two of those however are practically untouchable and way too old, but he’s always been one to appreciate good-looking people.

“Don’t tell me you’re pouting now.” Louis teases, stepping closer and fitting himself next to Harry. “C’mon, I’ll pay for your drink to make it better.”

“I was just getting a shot.”

“Great! Me too. Let’s down them together.”

Harry doesn’t protest, so as soon as Louis pays for their Vodka shots, they count to three and down them. As opposed to Louis - whose face doesn’t flinch, like he just drank water, Harry makes a face because the drink burns his throat and tongue.

“Another one.” He tells Louis.

“You sure you can handle your alcohol?”

“Try me.” Harry smirks so Louis gets another round. They down that too, and Harry’s had enough. His head is starting to hurt and he feels tipsy, so he thanks Louis for the drinks and walks back to his table.

“You okay?” Barbara asks him as soon as she sees his dazed expression.

“He just did shots with Tomlinson, he’s not okay.” Niall responds, just as Louis walks past. Which, _great_. Louis definitely heard him because of the smirk playing on his lips as he sits back down with his teammates.

Harry orders a bottle of water after they settle into a conversation about where Niall could get a job, and drinks it in quick, long gulps to make the bitter taste of alcohol go away. He hopes he’s not going to end up throwing up in his bathroom as soon as he gets home like last time, or pass out in the kitchen like he did at his post-graduation party.

They leave the local around half past eleven, and he shares a cab with Barbara to make sure she gets home safe before he tells the driver his address and leans back into the seat.

When he walks through his front door, he feels sick but not sick enough that he has to throw up. His father is gone from the kitchen and Harry assumes he must be in his office, so he walks up the two flights of stairs that lead to the second floor where his father’s office and bedroom are located.

“I’m home. Going to sleep.” He announces and leans against the doorframe.

“You’re drunk Harry, get some rest.” His father tells him without looking up from his laptop as his fingers dance across the keyboard.

“Alright. Night.”

“Good night.”

Harry doesn’t bother taking a shower because he fears he might slip and actually die. Instead, he undresses until he’s completely naked and gets under the covers.

He makes a mental note to set the thermometer to the lowest temperature possible first thing in the morning because _honestly_ , he’s fucking sweating.

He kicks the cover off and grabs his phone to check all his social networks before going to sleep.

**_Niall James Horan:_ ** _Best night ever! Ran into Man United !! Legends !!! – with **Harry Styles** and **Barbara Palvin** at **The Temple Bar**_

Harry likes Niall’s check-in and then changes to Instagram where he carelessly scrolls through the new pictures until he gets to the one he remembers seeing last.

He stops when he sees a photo **_louist91_** posted thirty minutes ago of a table filled with drinks and an ashtray, and the description “ _#LADS_ ”.

He likes the photo and then goes on his profile to see that he’s also posted two pictures yesterday of himself in his Manchester United kit. One in the lockerooms, and one on the field.

He likes both of them before he locks his phone and closes his eyes, trying to sleep.

However, sleeping is hard when his phone keeps beeping three times, notifying him of God knows what. He does bother checking his screen as he presses his finger on the home button and opens his Instagram again, since that’s the app that’s been bothering him.

**_louist91_ ** _liked your photo 1m_

**_louist91_ ** _liked your photo 1m_

**_louist91_ ** _started following you 55s_

His heart almost stops when he clicks on the pictures Louis liked, and he embarrassingly discovers that it’s his first two pictures he posted two years ago. The first one is of him at prom with his date when he had the worst curly hair imaginable, and the other one is of him at school, smiling with his friends.

He’s improved since then, for Christ’s sake; two hundred photos later he went from embarrassing sixteen year old with horrible hair to a slightly less embarrassing eighteen year old that posted quotes, photos of his food, and nice sceneries.

Harry places his phone back on the nightstand and turns it on silent, before he rolls on his stomach and groans into the pillow, trying to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter and whether I should continue the story in the comments :D
> 
> ! Next chapter will be up on July 25th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	3. The one with the too many giggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone likes this chapter :) they get a tad closer in it
> 
> Let me know what you think of it and make sure you read the end notes !
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Harry wakes up the next Saturday with a mild hangover and a dry mouth. Last night's events come rushing back to him as he gets out of bed with wobbly feet and a pounding head.

He brushes his teeth before he walks downstairs in just his briefs, and sits down at the table with a cup of coffee. He checks his Instagram once again, just to make sure that Louis does indeed follow him, which means he's one of the twenty-one people he follows.

Harry tries not to get ahead of himself, but when Niall calls him right after he takes his first sip of coffee to yell about how wicked that is, he might feel a bit better.

Of course, he knows that just because Louis followed him it doesn't mean he also wants to fuck him; probably wants to laugh at Harry's photos.

 ** _Harry:_** _come over today because im bored and have nothing to do_

 _ **Barbara:**  _ _so u invite us over only when ur bored_

 _ **Barbara:**  _ _I c how it is_

 _ **Niall:**  _ _hell yea!! Pool time!!!_

 _ **Barbara:**  _ _..._

Harry locks his phone and looks out the window, to see Zayn already at his job. Well,  _technically_  at his job, because he's sitting down with his feet dangling in the water as he checks his reflection in the front camera of his phone.

He walks back upstairs to change into his yellow swim shorts, and then spends time in the living room petting Ernie, who's trying to sleep on the couch.

"You're not allowed to sleep while I want to play with you." Harry tells him, and lowkey wishes he'd also have a cat to play with. He's always been more of a cat person but his father is allergic to cats (or so he claims-Harry's never seen him near an actual cat to prove that theory), so owning one is out of the question.

Ernie makes a disapproving noise and turns his head from Harry's hand, which is heartbreaking.

Harry finally leaves him alone when the doorbell rings, so he stands up from his crouching position to go and open the front gates for Niall and Barbara.

They came together, which is weird. Their arrivals are always at least ten minutes apart because they live on different sides of town. Niall lives in Firswood, whereas Barbara lives in Fallowfield. Harry with his house in Whalley Range is somewhere in the middle, so that's why they usually meet up at his place. Well, that and the fact that he has a pool.

"How come you guys came together?" Harry asks when the three of them finally sit down on their lounge chairs.

"We met up on the way." Barbara quickly answers as she takes off her sundress.

Harry rolls his eyes at Niall who is shamelessly taking this opportunity to ogle her body without her seeing.

"Stop being a perv." Barbara tells him as she sits back down.

"I'm not being a perv!" Niall protests, pulling out his phone.

"I know you were watching me."

"Harry was watching you too but you never go off on him."

"Harry is gay." Barbara replies and Harry nods, not really paying attention to the conversation anyway.

He's too busy looking at Zayn's sleeve tattoo.

"So what's this I hear about Louis Tomlinson following you on Instagram?" Barbara questions and turns her head to look at Harry.

"What about it? He followed me last night, no big deal."

"Yes it is! Besides him being a celebrity, you also want him to fuck you and vice versa."

"Just because he followed me on  _Instagram_ , it doesn't mean he wants to  _fuck_ me, Barb. And besides, he's straight."

Niall and surprisingly Zayn, snort at Harry's statement.

"What are you smirking about?" Harry asks Niall, confused as to why Zayn would react to Harry's words, or why he's listening in the first place.

"It's just...look mate, I don't want to be a stereotyping dick, but have you  _seen_ the way Louis walks and talks and just...is? I don't think he's straight."

"That's really rude of you. You know I hate stereotypes-"

"It's just my guess. And he was  _definitely_  flirting with you at the bar last night, no doubt about it."

"We did some shots-" Harry tries to reason, but it's in vain. Both Barbara and Niall, and apparently also Zayn who Harry now knows hears everything, are standing by their opinion. Still, Harry doesn't want to get ahead of himself.

Flattering has never helped him in any way. A good example is his 11th year crush, Josh - who's also the guy that made Harry realize he's definitely, 100% gay -, who would always smile at him and give him cigarettes and invite him over to watch movies. And of course, being the naïve sixteen year old Harry was back then, he thought that Josh's smiles meant that he had a crush on Harry, so one day when neither of them were really expecting it, Harry just leaned over and kissed him.

Which lead to a giant fit thrown by Josh that was followed by loud yelling and dramatic door slamming. Harry never looked him in the eye again. The only good thing that came out of the whole ordeal was him coming out to his father and friends.

His father was indifferent because he had more important issues that concerned him; not where his son decides to put his cock. And his friends, Barbara and Niall - because Harry had never been popular - smiled and told him they already knew. Harry didn't even bother asking them how they knew. He was just glad he got it off his chest.

"I wonder how big his dick is." Niall says, pulling Harry out of his thoughts.

"What?" he and Barbara ask at the same time.

"What? You got to give it to the lad, he looks good! But judging by his posture he probably has an average sized dick that's a bit thick-"

"Niall, oh my  _God_!" Barbara exclaims and mimics throwing up.

"I'm just trying to prepare Harry for what's to come. Better said,  _who's_  to come."

"That's not funny."

"Oh like your bad puns are any better." Niall mumbles.

"He's straight, okay? Let's stop talking about him."

"What if he isn't though?" Barbara pushes.

"How would I even know?"

"Exactly."

"You're not making any sense." Harry says and thinks about asking Zayn for a mojito.

"Yes I am. I can try to you know, hit on him the next time we go to the bar and see if he-"

"You want to  _seduce_  Louis Tomlinson?" Niall snorts, looking at Barbara. "Good luck."

"No, hold on. That's actually a good idea. You can hit on him and see if he responds the same way he responds to me."

Harry sits up to face Barbara properly.

"You two are crazy."

"Says the guy who was just thinking about the thickness of Louis Tomlinson's dick a few moments ago." Harry shoots and Niall shakes his head, sighing.

-

Sunday is unusually hot for England, and Harry can't even put on a tank top without feeling like he's going to suffocate. He checks the weather on his phone, and almost gasps when he sees a giant 31 on the screen.

"Thirty fucking one degrees, what a joke." He mumbles as he sits down in a kitchen with a plate of waffles that Stephanie prepared.

"Hottest day of the year." Zayn agrees as he walks in with a backpack over one of his shoulders and a skateboard under his arm.

Harry almost chokes on his waffles because he's once again reminded how hot he can be. It's inhuman. And also unfair.

"Any plans for the day?" Zayn casually asks as he places his backpack on a chair and goes to get himself a glass of water.

"Yeah, 'm thinking about going to the waterpark with Niall and Barb."

"The new one that just opened?"

Harry nods, swallowing a bite. "You?"

"Nothing really. Going to clean your pool and then I might swing by the skate park with my mates."

Once Harry's finished eating he places his plate in the dishwasher and walks back upstairs to write on their group chat that they should meet up in front of the building in an hour. At least he can take a cold shower before he steps out in the terrible heat.

Because they went out yesterday (they had no luck in meeting the team again - even though for Harry, it was actually  _luck_ ) and the day before, he doesn't have the money to spend on a taxi, so he has to take the tube. Which means that it will be twice as hot and sweaty inside, since most of the Mancs aren't crazy enough to travel outside in this heat.

He takes a long, cold shower before he puts on the thinnest tank top he owns, a pair of jean shorts, and his white converse.

The closest tube station is a two-minute walk from his house, and by the time he gets underground he's sweating in places he had no idea could actually produce sweat. It's pure torture.

He has to travel seven stations before he finally arrives at the indoor waterpark, and as soon as he sees the state his best friends are in (extremely close to fainting from the heat), they immediately decide to spend the entire day inside, until the park closes and they are forced to leave.

"I think I might literally die from hyperthermia." Barbara whines when they finally meet outside the changing rooms in their swimsuits.

"Ditto." Niall agrees and Harry shoots him a suspicious look. Since when does Niall agree with what Barbara says? And since when do they actually socialize? What is going on? What is Niall not telling him?

He decides to question him as soon as Barbara goes to the sauna and leaves them alone.

That has to wait however, because Barbara wants to test out every single waterslide and then the Turkish bath before she even thinks about going to the sauna.

And Niall is eager to accompany here everywhere, which is another red flag for Harry.

As soon as Barbara announces that she's off to the sauna a few hours later, Harry grins and tells her to have fun. Then he turns his head to Niall.

_Time for interrogation_

" _Ditto_?" is all Harry asks.

"What?"

"Since when do you agree with Barbara? What is going on?"

"What's with the creepy look on your face?" Niall questions without answering, looking slightly scared.

"Me? Nothing. What's with the secretive look on  _your_  face?"

"My face? What do you mean?"

"I mean what the fuck is up with you and Barbara? I know something happened. You two act different than usual."

"You got that from  _one_ word?"

"Don't change the subject."

"That's not-" Niall tries, but Harry raises a hand to stop him.

"I feel betrayed."

"You don't have a reason to feel betrayed!"

"Look me in the eye and tell me nothing's going on."

Niall sighs and Harry knows he's one of the few people who simply can't lie to your face.

"I didn't kiss Barbara." Niall states, looking at something behind him.

"You  _so_  did!"

"Alright I did!"

"Ha! I knew-wait  _what_? You kissed her?" Harry exclaims, not believing his ears. Even though he was sure something was going on, he didn't actually count on it being true. His hunches usually aren't right.

"Thought you already knew."

"I did but- _what_? When? How?  _What_?"

"Oh come off it Harry." Niall says, waving his hand like it's nothing. "We kissed yesterday."

"Yesterday when?"

"When we went home."

Harry's eyes widen. It's just surprise after surprise. His heart can't take it.

"You went home  _together_?"

"Well, no. But we waited at the same tube station and we got to talking and one thing lead to another-"

"Oh no, none of that. Tell me exactly how it went."

"Jesus." Niall exasperatedly sighs. "You're worse than Barbara and her friends at school."

"Don't change the subject by being sexist." Harry says, looking at him expectantly.

"We were waiting for the tube and she asked me why I'm always rude to her and I told her that it's because she's always rude to me, and then she told me that she doesn't want us to be rude to each other or some shit, and then kissed me. Just like that. Out of the blue."

"And?"

"And what?"

"How was it?"

"Good." Niall calmly states, maintaining a cool attitude that Harry can see right through.

"Just good? No tongue? Groping?"

"Yes there was tongue but no groping. Her tube came so we said bye and that was that."

"And did anything happen since?"

"Well, we snogged right before you arrived today-"

"The sheer disrespect-"

"Oh shut up, you'd probably pretend to gag if you ever saw us."

"That's not true!" Harry lies.

"Shit, she's coming back already. Don't tell her I told you. She said she doesn't want to tell anyone in case things don't work out." Niall hisses and looks in Barbara's direction.

"You're already having the relationship talk? And expect me not to do anything about it?"

"Just-shut up."

"Okay." Harry frowns.

"So the sauna was overcrowded." Barbara announces and drops her towel on her lounger.

"You and Niall  _kissed_?" Harry bursts out.

"What the fuck mate?!" Niall exclaims.

Barbara just shakes her head with a smile.

-

"Okay so now that you guys are together-" Harry starts that evening when they exit the building at exactly 9pm, which is closing time.

"We're not together Harry." Niall sighs, telling him that for the hundredth time. Ever since Harry found out a few hours ago, he's been whining about being the third wheel and making plans about their futures just to mask the fact that he feels left out and lonely.

Harry definitely wants someone he can kiss whenever he feels like it and have one of those corny summer romances you read in a Nicholas Sparks novel or see in really cliché movies.

He shakes himself out of his daydreaming and turned to face the two of them. "Well I'm taking the tube home so I'll see you guys...whenever. Bye."

Barbara smiles and kisses his cheek as a sign of goodbye. Niall hugs him before Harry's off towards the station, alone.

It's not completely dark yet, and that's one of the things he hates about summer. Besides the mosquitos, sunburns, and now the incredibly stressful (yet supposedly easy) job, he also has to put up with the fact that the sun goes down around ten in the evening. Which makes the day seem a lot longer, and that just won't do because it gives him the illusion that he spends more time awake than asleep.

It's his last summer when he'll be able to properly relax, and he wants to make the most of it. Even if that means laying in bed all day and doing absolutely nothing. He likes doing nothing.

The tube ride is half an hour long, so Harry takes that time to post a picture that Barbara took of him when they went outside by the pool bar to get lunch.

 _harrystyles:_ _hottest day of the year_

He spends two minutes editing it, and then another two minutes debating whether he should post it or not. In the end, the picture is posted but he makes a mental note to work out in the gym at the training complex next time the players have a gym day.

He gets home around ten when it's already dark outside and calls his dad as soon as he's out of the shower.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Hi, I just got home from the pool."

"Okay? Is there something wrong?"

"No. When are you coming home?"

"Tomorrow. I didn't ask Stephanie to stay the night; figured you might be okay on your own."

Harry hates it when his father talks in his serious, businessman voice. He has no idea why he even thought to call him.

Oh well.

"Yeah. Well then. Goodnight." He says without bothering to ask his father where he is. Probably Spain. Or France.

He changes into his pajamas (which is actually a pair of briefs) and then settles in his bed after turning on the TV. He has a few notifications on his photo, but he only cares about four words written on the screen.

 _louist91_ _liked your photo 5m_

He's about to get his laptop out when he hears something downstairs, and wonders how the hell did Ernie even get into the house.

"Ernie?"

Harry walks down the stairs carefully and switches on every light as he goes. There is no sign of Ernie, but as a safety measure, he walks outside to make sure he's in the garden.

"Fuck!"

He startles when he sees two figures on one of the loungers, and his heart almost falls out of his chest. There is no bat in sight, or anything else he might use to defend himself from potential robbers.

However, as soon as he's about to run back into the house and call the police, he hears giggles and silent talking.

"Zayn?" Harry asks, squinting his eyes as he carefully steps closer. His breath hitches and he can't believe his eyes when he sees Louis fucking Tomlinson sitting next to him, with what looks like a spliff in his hand. His tiny hand. Did he ever notice that Louis has small hands?

"Harold." Louis says and nods, trying to be serious but failing when he falls into a fit of giggles.

_It shouldn't be cute when a grown twenty-three year old man giggles._

"That's not really...my name."

Harry has no idea what to say to them.

"Are you smoking weed in my backyard?" is the only think he manages to say.

"No, we're eating fucking Skittles." Louis grins and holds up the spliff. "Want a hit?"

"Um...not really. I've never-"

"You've never smoked pot?"

"No-is that a bad thing or?"

"Not at all. You don't have to do it if you don't want to." Louis tells him.

Zayn pats the lounger across from them, and Harry finds himself taking a seat. Everything is too overwhelming; the fact that he's sitting on the lounger facing two of the most attractive people he's ever seen in his life, and they're smoking weed.

Sure, Harry's seen weed at parties-Niall always smokes it, and sometimes Barbara-, but he's never really tried it. He got high once though, when a few people did a smoked in a closed bathroom at someone's birthday and he laughed for two hours straight until his jaw started hurting.

"Um...how exactly are you here?" Harry asks Louis, placing his hands in his lap.

"Zayner and I have been mates since we were little kids." is the explanation Louis gives him as he takes another drag. Harry is internally debating whether he should try it too (because he's always wanted to but always feared choking on it and embarrassing himself), so when the insistent looks Louis' giving him get too much to handle, Harry sighs and holds his hand out to Zayn so he can take a few hits.

"So do I just...do what I do with cigarettes?"

"Yeah, you take two long drags and then hold it in your lungs as much as possible." Zayn instructs as he hands him the blunt.

Harry does as told, but he ends up coughing up one lung in the process. Louis laughs at him but he doesn't give up, and finally gets it right on the second try.

"See? Now that's how you do it." Louis smiles and takes the blunt away from him. "Good boy."

There is something bubbling up in Harry's stomach at the words, and he can't help but smile. Louis' praising shouldn't make him feel as good as it does.

He finally starts feeling the effects of the drug after a couple more hits, and he knows he must look ridiculous because of the way he's smiling. Every time either Louis or Zayn says something, Harry bursts out laughing for no apparent reason. He feels good.

"I think Harry might've smoked a bit too much." Louis laughs when he finally puts the joint out in the ashtray.

"When's your dad coming home?" Zayn asks and stretches out on the lounger, resting his legs on Louis' thighs.

"Tomorrow. I don't even know where he is." Harry's answer quickly turns into laughter and he finds it ridiculous how a few hits can take their toll on him.

A few minutes later - after they cross different topics such as football, girls (much to Harry's dismay), and which photo of Zayn and Louis they should post on Instagram - the two of them decide to finally go.

"Sorry about...you know, smoking in your backyard without your permission, but my roommate decided to have his girlfriend over and Louis' place is a mess." Zayn apologizes when Harry walks them to the door so he can open and then close the automatic gate.

"It's fine. Thank God you weren't robbers or serial killers."

"Yeah, would've been a pity to have you killed." Louis says with a wink and then he's out the door after Zayn. Harry watches them on the monitor by the door and opens the gate so they can walk out, before he closes it again. They usually keep the gate open during the day if his father is home (there are always clients coming in and out, having to talk to his father about God knows what), but when Harry's home alone, he always keeps it closed to feel safe.

He hasn't felt safe since his family split up and he misses the feeling.

-

Harry knows he has to take the tube to work from now on, because he's short on money and he doesn't even catch his father at home anymore so he can snatch some bills from his wallet.

On Wednesday, when he's in the locker rooms before practice, talking to Herrera about where they want to go out on Friday (and Harry's been invited!), Van Gaal and Giggs enter the room, together with their other assistant coach, Stuivenberg.

"A medical checkup is going to happen tomorrow before the league starts." Van Gaal starts. "This includes urine testing, so no drinking until tomorrow night."

Harry turns his head to look at Louis, who doesn't seem fazed at all. He actually seems relaxed about the fact that he's going to do a drug test tomorrow. As far as Harry knows, marijuana definitely doesn't leave your system in just a day.

 _Why isn't Louis panicking? And why am_ _I_ _stressing over this?_

When the locker rooms finally clear out, Harry hurries to push the cart filled with towels and water bottles on the pitch. He waits for the moment Louis jogs over for a few sips to approach him.

As Harry hands him the towel and the bottle, Louis eyes him curiously. "Something wrong?"

"No just...aren't you a bit scared of the drug test? You're going to be kicked off the team."

"Nah." Louis smirks before he takes a gulp. "'ve got a friend who usually gives me urine samples."

"Wha-you've got a  _urine_  dealer?" Harry asks, mouth agape.

_What even is Louis Tomlinson?_

"You could say that." Louis laughs, handing back the bottle, and then wiping his face with the towel before he throws it to Harry, who catches it on his chest. "Nice chat."

Harry watches him run back out on the field, but focuses on his neck on purpose, just in case Louis has eyes in the back of his head. Since he has a fucking  _urine_   _guy_ , Harry wouldn't be surprised about anything anymore.

Practice ends around lunchtime as usual, and after Van Gaal announces a gym day tomorrow, the guys start to pack up and hit the showers. Harry makes sure to throw the towels in the laundry basket and the bottles in the trash, before he stretches and sits down on one of the benches.

He opens his Instagram, and scrolls through it to see if Louis has posted anything recently that he might've missed. No biggie. Louis did indeed post a photo of himself and Zayn, with  _thank god_   _we're not robbers_ as the caption. And okay. That's the photo Harry took of them, and also something he said. He smiles as he double taps the screen.

Harry then opens WhatsApp, to respond to the messages he's got from Niall and Barbara, who are planning on going out tonight.

 ** _Harry:_ ** _why don't you 2 just go out alone? Like a date? Why do you need me to come along?_

 ** _Niall:_** _um...? Barb?_

 _ **Barbara:**  _ _well I mean I wouldn't mind but I don't want Harry to feel left out_

 ** _Harry:_** _jfc this is ridiculous just go out on a date already_

 _ **Harry:**  _ _also I don't feel left out I'm short on money anyway_

 _ **Harry:**  _ _so have fun_

He opens up the text from his father saying that he'll be out until later tonight because he's going to an important business meeting, and Harry just replies with a simple  _ok_. Like he always does.

The locker room is empty, so when he hears a shower running, he looks up confused, and at the same time scared. Does he go check out where the noise is coming from? Does he just go home? Who is here half an hour after everyone left?

Harry decides to stand up and go check it out to make sure that someone who's allowed back here is actually in the showers, which would be really confusing nonetheless, since he saw everyone leave. He wants to make sure he isn't locking anyone in the locker room over night.

As soon as he enters the linoleum clad showers, he immediately regrets ever being born. Because there is Louis Tomlinson (well, judging by his tattoos and his very amazing, very  _naked_  ass), bent over with one hand placed on the wall and the other one around his cock.

Harry doesn't even gasp. He can't. It's unreal. God doesn't love him this much.

His cheeks are flaming as he turns around and walks back into the locker room, awestruck. He can barely move, mainly because of the way his jeans are starting to get way tighter than they usually are.

He knows he has to lock up so the only way to do that is to wait for Louis to come out of the shower, while pretending he didn't see anything.

 _It's going to be really hard to do that_ , he thinks.  _That was a good pun. I should write it down._

There is no time to think about puns right now though, because Louis emerges from the showers with a towel around his waist and a happy look on his face, hair wet and clinging to his forehead.

He looks surprised to see Harry sitting on the bench next to his locker, but doesn't say anything as he walks to get his stuff.

"Why haven't you gone home yet?" Louis asks, breaking the silence. He looks for his clothes and then sets them out on the bench to put them on.

_If he's going to change in front of me I swear to God_

Louis, apparently, has that exact idea in mind when he drops his towel and bends over to get his briefs.

"Jesus Christ." Harry says and covers his eyes. His life has officially skyrocketed. He looks away and changes the subject so he won't seem too obvious.

"I can't go home because I have to lock up and then leave the keys with Eleanor at the reception. I could've locked you in if I hadn't...heard you showering."

"You heard me showering or  _saw_  me showering?"

"Heard you."

"You're lying." Louis says and turns around, placing his hands on his hips.

Harry takes this moment to look over his defined abs, the small, barely visible soft tummy right over the waistband of his jeans, and the tattoos that litter his chest.

"And also staring."

Harry looks up at Louis as he contemplates just giving up. Just quitting his job tomorrow and saving himself some embarrassment and dignity.

"Um I wasn't-sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Oh Christ. Why didn't he ever think that his staring and pathetic flirting might make Louis uncomfortable?

"You don't make me uncomfortable. I'm actually flattered."

"You're flattered when I creep on you?"

"I'm flattered that you've got something in your pants that needs taken care of because of me."

Harry's jaw falls to the floor and he crosses his legs to make it less obvious, which, of course, makes it even more obvious.

_Good fucking job._

"I just thought um...usually straight guys are weirded out if they're being hit on by me."

"How many straight guys have you hit on?" Louis asks, amused, as he pulls on a black Adidas shirt over his head.

"Just...two. Counting you. And the other one didn't take it as well as you did." Harry awkwardly says.

_Why would Louis even care about this?_

"What makes you think I'm straight?"

Harry chokes on air.

"Wha-I mean-you've been linked to a lot of girls in your past and you know...like. I don't know? It's none of my business."

"You know, you shouldn't believe everything you read."

"So you're not straight?"

Louis zips his bag shut, and then places it over his shoulder. "Thought it was none of your business?"

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry."

"You're so easy to fluster." Louis laughs as he holds the door that leads to the hallway open for Harry to walk out first.

Harry locks up and then leaves the keys at the reception as usual, before he follows Louis out of the building.

"You going home?" Louis asks right after Harry says goodbye, and turns around to walk towards the tube station.

"Yeah."

"And you're taking the tube? On this heat?"

"Um...yeah?"

"I'll give you a ride home. C'mon."

"Well-uh." Harry stutters.

_I'd LOVE for you to take me for a ride_

"Thanks." He finally says and watches Louis as he unlocks his Porsche and throws his bag in the backseat. Then he circles the car and gets in the driver seat, watching Harry with a curious expression.

"Do you need a special invitation or?"

Harry shakes his head and finally walks over to the passenger door, before he sits down on the comfortable leather seats. He buckles up and looks around the car while Louis starts the engine.

"The seats are so comfortable. 's nice."

"I didn't spend sixty thousand pounds on this car for nothing."

Harry's eyes bulge out of his head. Being a professional football player really does have its perks. He doesn't bother telling him where he lives, since Louis already knows. After all, he  _was_ smoking weed in his backyard just a day ago.

"So why did you get this job anyway?" Louis asks, changing the subject. His eyes are focused on the road as he drives with one hand, the other being occupied by a lighter. He lights up his cigarette and then discards the lighter in the car door.

"What do you mean? My dad got me the job."

"But don't you have something more exciting to do over the summer? Why would you want to work every day of the week instead of relaxing before Uni? You're going to Uni in autumn right?"

Harry is overwhelmed by the fact that Louis seems genuinely interested in these facts about Harry's life. He doesn't flatter himself though; Louis probably just wants to make conversation so they won't have to sit in uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah I am. It's actually a funny story, but it's kind of complicated."

"I've got time."

Harry exhales. "Well, I thought it would be pretty cool if I threw a party after graduation where I'd invite half of the people in my year. That turned out to be a bad idea when my dad found out, and he took back the promise he made to get me a car if I get into Uni. Now I have to work and save up money. That's also why I have to take the tube in this heat and why I'll probably have to quit smoking."

"That's horrible. About the car I mean, not the smoking part. What car did you want?"

"I was thinking maybe a 1967 Austin Healey?"

"How posh. How much is one?"

"Like fifty grand."

"I think you'll have to make a career out of being a water boy then." Louis laughs. "And then maybe you can get the car after you turn sixty."

"Ha ha. I took my driver's test for nothing. And my dad won't even let me drive his car."

Harry then wonders why in the world he's whining to Louis about his childish problems? He probably seems like a spoilt rich kid by now.

"Who knows, maybe you'll win the lottery one day and then you can buy your dream car."

Harry shrugged. "I doubt it."

Louis shakes his head and flicks the cigarette out the window, before he rolls it back up.

"So um...where do you live?" Harry asks, desperately trying to avoid silence.

"Greater Manchester."

"You already found a house?"

Louis nods. "Bought it when I got the proposition from Louis to transfer. 'S a bit complicated though since I haven't gotten around to unpack anything yet and I can't find the proper motivation."

"Um...I could help you sometime if you want. I mean-"

_What the fuck?_

"Sounds good." Louis agrees, taking him by surprise.

"So you already knew you wanted to join Man United?" Harry continues, changing the subject from his previous slip up.

"Of course. I've been a fan since I was in diapers."

Harry doesn't ask him about how come he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain because he's read Louis' page on Wikipedia more times than he can count, and they're already pulling up in front of his house. He does however want to know how come he knows Zayn so well after spending those years in Paris, how he didn't lose his accent...he wants to know a lot about Louis but doesn't want to seem like a desperate fan. Or a pathetic infatuated eighteen-year-old.

"Well uh, thanks for the ride. Sorry to inconvenience you-"

"Don't worry about it pal." Louis smirks, turning in his seat. "Look, if you ever need a ride to work...I can pick you up."

"Won't that be too much of a burden?"

"God no. I can take Zayn to work now, and then pick you up at the same time. He'll love me." Louis grins.

"Well then-uh. Thank you."

Louis nods and waits for Harry to pass through the gate before he finally drives off.

As soon as Harry gets into his room, he doesn't even wait to close the door behind him before he falls against it and tugs on his cock until he comes with Louis' name on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter and whether I should continue the story in the comments :D
> 
> ! Since I'll be going on holiday next week, so the next update will be on August 9th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	4. The one with the bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't really like this chapter I don't know why...I'm just disappointed in myself. But let me know what you thought of it anyway :)
> 
> Thank you [Ju](http://dreamlandlostgirl.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing this chapter for me :)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

“What time is it?” Harry asks when he finds Louis in his kitchen the next morning, talking to Zayn about God knows what.

Harry’s learned by now that Louis obviously doesn’t have any boundaries whatsoever, and he wonders if he’ll ever get used to that.

_It’s not like you need to get used to it. You work for him._

“We’ve got ten minutes to spare.” Louis informs him before he pulls out his phone to text someone.

Harry makes himself a cup of coffee and sits down at the table across from him, not bothering to make himself any breakfast since he doesn’t have the time to eat it, and also because he’s a bit nervous to have Louis in his house once again.

_Is it even normal for an eighteen year old to get nervous around someone?_

He needs to stop acting like a child, he really does. So he makes a mental note to start acting more mature from now on, because after all, he’s leaving for Uni in a couple of months and if he wants to get a shot with Louis, he has to stop being a whiny baby.

“What are you doing after work today?” Louis asks, drifting his attention from Harry to Zayn.

“Probably going to meet up with Perrie or summat.” Zayn answers, not looking at him since he’s too busy with his phone.

“So you’re not coming over to help me unpack?”

“Lou, I’m not coming over to that pigsty even if you paid me.”

“What if I _do_ pay you?”

Zayn perks up, but it’s obvious that he’s taking the piss. “How much are we talking about?”

“Fifty pounds an hour?”

“You’re crazy.” Zayn shakes his head. “But I still can’t come over to help. I already promised Perrie we’d hang out.”

Louis sighs. “Fine. I’ll find someone else.”

“I can help you.” Harry interjects. “I mean-if you want.”

“Okay then.” Louis cocks his head. “We’ll drive to my house after practice.”

“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.” Zayn tells him before he leaves the room to go outside.

Harry watches him with knitted eyebrows, but Louis asking him if he’s ready to go makes him snap out of his confused state.

They arrive at the training complex about ten minutes later, and this time Harry isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do, since today is a gym day. Is he supposed to just train with them? Stare at the walls until the two hours are over?

He decides to ask Giggs about it when everyone, including him, is headed to the gym on the first floor.

“Yes you may also use the gym, but next time we have a gym day, you don’t have to come in.”

Harry nods, not sure whether Giggs is telling him not to come the next time they have a gym day, or that he is allowed to come but not obligated to.

The gym is a giant room filled with different gym equipments, thirty of each of them. Giggs and Stuivenberg tell them to start their warm-ups, and then start with working from their chest down.

Harry awkwardly does the warm ups with the team, and then goes over to the weight benches. It’s been quite a while since he last tried lifting weights, or actually went to a gym (even though he has some gym appliances at home, he’s never motivated enough to use them), so he’s not sure how trained he is for lifting thirty kilograms while laying down.

He starts out simple, with 5kg weights on each side, but then progresses until he has twenty on each. That turns out to be a bad idea, because soon enough he pushes himself too far and finds himself stuck with the metal bar digging into his chest.

And as if things couldn’t get any worse or embarrassing, he hears Louis cackle from somewhere in the room, and then someone approaching.

“You alright there pal?” Louis asks, looking down at Harry with a teasing grin.

“Yeah uh-I’m stuck.”

“That’s because you’re not holding this weight the way you should. Let me show you.”

Harry scrunches his nose. “I would, if I knew how to get out from under these weights.”

Louis lifts up the bar and lets Harry stand up, before setting it on the handles. He lays down and looks up at Harry to see if he’s paying attention. And of _course_ Harry is.

“You were holding the bar with your hands next to your shoulders like this.” Louis starts, and demonstrates as he goes. “But you have to have the back of your palms touch your shoulders so you can have some leverage.”

Louis then starts lifting the weight up, and then lowering it, but Harry’s too busy watching the way his biceps bulge out obscenely from all the effort.

“Are you following?” Louis asks, and Harry drifts his eyes back to his face.

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s see.”

Harry nods and takes Louis place in a matter of seconds. He actually finds it easier when he starts lifting exactly like Louis showed him.

“See? Much easier the Tommo way.”

“Tommo way?” Harry asks, placing the weights back on their handles.

Louis smiles. “’s a childhood thing.”

He hangs out around Harry for a little while after that, giving him instructions and advice, before he’s called over to the bicycles.

“Always trying to slack off.” Herrera says, shaking his head at him when Louis climbs on the one next to his.

“I was just showing the kid around.”

Harry’s stomach knots.

_I’m not a kid_

He continues doing weight lifts, and runs on the treadmill for half an hour before they’re dismissed and asked to come in on time the next day.

When they get back to the locker rooms, everyone is starting to get undressed and hit the showers, Harry is not sure whether he should too. He’s sweaty and pretty sure that he also stinks, but he doesn’t want to overstep his boundaries.

“Aren’t you going to shower amigo?” David asks with a smile as he puts his towel over his shoulder.

Harry tries not to stare at his naked body as he shrugs. “I don’t want to um-make anyone uncomfortable.”

“What are you talking about?” David laughs. “Come on, don’t be shy.”

 _He’s always been my favorite_ , Harry thinks as he hurries to shuffle out of his clothes. Even though he’s never been shy about his body (he’s always naked around the house-Barbara and Niall are used to it by now), he can’t help but feel a bit weird and even insecure to get naked in front of these guys. They all have amazing six-packs and V-lines and…oh well.

He discards his clothes and grabs the towel that was sitting next to him on the bench to wrap around his waist before he walks towards the shower.

He tries not to look at anyone as he quickly washes himself, careful to avoid wetting his hair, and then quickly wraps the towel again.

When he gets back to the bench, he’s proud of himself for not staring at Louis (too much).

“So you’re still coming over to help me with my boxes right?” Louis asks as he walks over to an already dressed Harry.

“If you still want me to.”

“Of course I want you to. If I have no one to help me with, I don’t think I’ll ever be motivated to unpack on my own and then I’ll have to keep sleeping on the couch until I die from a bad back.”

“I’ve got a bad back and I haven’t died yet so I think you’ll be fine.” Harry says, not sure why he felt the need to share this information.

“Yes, but you’re young. I already have one foot in the grave.”

“’m not that young.” He mutters when Louis turns around to put his shirt on.

“What’s that?” Herrera asks, and Harry just shakes his head.

“Are you still coming to the pub on Friday?”

“Well…I mean if I’m invited then sure.”

Ander smiles. “Of course you are, or else I wouldn’t be asking you.”

Harry reciprocates the smile before he stands up and cracks his back. Louis is ready to go, with his Adidas bag slung over his shoulder and an expectant look on his face.

“Can you lock up for me?” Harry asks Ander. “And then leave the keys at the reception?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

“Harold?” Louis interrupts. “Ready or shall I wait for you in the car?”

“No, I’m ready.”

“Alright then. We’re out lads, see you tomorrow.”

“Don’t do anything that might get you in jail!” David yells after them, just before the door closes behind Louis.

“So before you enter my house, I have to warn you that it’s quite a pigsty, as Zayn put it.” Louis tells him after he starts the car.

“Oh, it’s fine. I don’t think you can top the mess Niall has in his room.”

“’s that your boyfriend?”

“No? He’s the blonde guy from the pub. He’s with my other friend, Barbara.”

“Oh, the brunette with the blue eyes?”

Harry nods.

“Before you told me you were gay, I thought the two of you were together.” Louis admits as he breaks for a stop sign.

Harry snorts. “No thank you.”

“Aw come on, she’s fuckin’ pretty.”

“Yeah, but she’s not…a guy.”

Louis hums and cocks his head with a smile, not tearing his eyes away from the traffic light. When it turns green, he presses the gas pedal so hard Harry’s head jerks back against the headrest. He clings onto the door handle for the rest of the trip, since Louis apparently loves to drive like a madman when the streets are fairly empty and there’s no police car in sight.

Louis’ house is a one-storey semi-villa (it looks normal but at the same time it’s incredibly modern and luxurious) in a fancy neighborhood in Greater Manchester, with a big white garage door on the right side. There’s no gate, and Harry wonders if Louis isn’t scared of football supporters, paparazzi, or interviewers showing up at his front door.

He watches Louis’ fingers as they skim over the buttons on a small remote of his car keys, before pressing a button that causes the garage door to move. There’s another car on the right side of the garage; a black, glistening Range Rover that looks brand-new and unused.

“You have two cars?”

“Yeah. Never used the Rover though.”

Louis parks in the space left between the wall and the Rover, and then takes the keys out of the ignition.

“There’s no door leading to the house. We have to walk back outside.”

“That’s not practical.”

“I know, I’m going to have some guys over to build a door in this weekend.”

The garage door closes by the time they’re on the porch and Louis opens the front door.

The inside of the house is just as fancy as the outside. All the walls are plain white, and besides a small closet and a shoe stand, there’s nothing else in the hallway.

Louis drops his keys in a small bowl on top of the closet, and after he toes off his sneakers, he walks past the stairs through a door that probably leads to the living room from what Harry can see.

“The house isn’t as bad as you said-oh.” Harry stops speaking when he sees the countless boxes sprawled all over the living room, some opened and some not. They’re all labeled with words written a black marker such as MASTER BED, KITCHEN, LIVING ROOM, BOOKS (NOT URGENT), etc.

There’s a giant plasma TV hanging on the wall above the fireplace facing the couch, and to say that the coffee table is a disaster would be an understatement.

There are three opened pizza boxes on it, a half-eaten tub of ice cream, a few bowls of cereal and four bottles of beer all over it.

“Jesus Christ.” Harry breathes.

“No judging. I meant to clean that up yesterday after a few friends came over, but I fell asleep before I did so.”

“I’m going to wash the dishes, I’m sorry.”

“What?” Louis asks, watching confused as Harry grabs the bowls and the bottles before heading into the kitchen. “Alright so you’re just going to clean up my place?”

“You can start by opening one box at the time, but do it strategically. Start with the living room and them move in a circle, until you get to the upper level.”

“I like this bossy side of you.” Louis smirks. “You don’t seem so innocent anymore.”

“I seem innocent to you?”

“Well right now, you seem offended.”

Harry turns his back at Louis and places the dishes in the dishwasher, and then turns it on. Louis has apparently taken the job to throw the rest of the rubbish from the coffee table in the trash, so Harry busies himself with the box that says LIVING ROOM.

There are two lamps in there, a few books to fill the bookshelf in the corner of the room, and some cushions for the couch.

“How much shit did you bring here?” Harry asks when he discovers two other boxes for the living room.

“Too much. I don’t even get to live in the house as often as I’d like. Thanks for helping though.”

Harry nods as he opens the second box, and the contents are similar to the first one. He’s about to move on to the box for the kitchen, when the doorbell startles him.

“Are you expecting anyone?” he asks Louis, who’s elbow deep in a box labeled MISCELLANEOUS.

“I don’t think so. Wait, it might be Payno.”

“Who’s Payno?”

The doorbell rings again, and after Louis shoots him an expecting look, Harry turns around to walk over to the front door.

A tall man with broad shoulders and defined biceps is looking at him with a smile. “Uh…am I interrupting something?”

“No?” Harry asks, looking back over his shoulder.

“Is Louis available?”

“Yeah, he’s…available. He’s inside. Come in.”

“I’m Liam by the way.” Liam says and holds out a hand for Harry to shake.

“Harry.”

“How long have you been seeing-“

“Jesus Liam can I live?” Louis asks, walking towards them as soon as they enter the living room. “Harry here is our water boy, who kindly offered to help me move my shit. Unlike _some_ people.”

“I told you I was busy with Soph-“

“When are you not busy with her?”

Liam doesn’t answer as he pulls Louis in a hug, finishing off with a pat on the back.

“Do you have my stuff?”

Liam nods and searches for something through the pockets of his jeans, before he pulls out a small container that’s filled with something looking suspiciously like pee.

“Is that…?” Harry asks, pointing at the liquid.

“Yeah. Thanks bro. I’ll go put it somewhere I won’t forget so I can take it with me tomorrow.”

Louis disappears upstairs, so Harry’s left in an awkward silence with Liam in the living room.

“So how do you know Louis?”

“I got a job as the team’s water boy and he asked for help to unpack.”

“So there’s nothing going on here?”

Harry looks at Liam with a confused expression.

“Um, no?”

“Alright, just asking.”

Harry doesn’t ask why Liam would even ask that since as far as he knows, Louis is reportedly straight. When Louis comes back, Harry and Liam have already sorted out the kitchen and are ready to start with the upstairs area.

“I have to run Tommo, but we have to meet up sometime for drinks.” Liam tells him, patting him on the shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Louis asks as he picks up a box for the bathroom.

“Going to meet up with Zayn. Do some ring shopping.”

“You want to propose to Sophia but didn’t ask me for advice? I’m hurt mate.”

“Zayn is more…Zayn. And you’re you.”

Louis rolls his eyes and then glances at Harry for a second. “Right. Well then, let me know how it works out. And about the drinks thing, some lads from the team and I are going out on Friday if you want to come.”

Liam nods and shakes Harry’s hand before he’s off.

“How do you all know each other since you just moved to London?”

Louis looks at him as they walk up the stairs with two boxes.

“We used to go to the same college together before I moved, but we kept in touch.”

They place the boxes down in the bedroom before they open them. They’re filled with clean sheets, pillow covers, pillows, and duvets.

“How many sheets does one need? And why?” Harry asks, but then sees Louis’ hesitant face before he shakes his head. “Actually, nevermind. I don’t want to know.”

Louis cackles and takes a sheet out of the box before turning to the king sized bed that takes up a lot of the space in the room.

“Are these washed at least?”

“Yeah they are. They’re new.”

Harry watches him struggle to get the sheets on the bed the proper way, but with no luck. “Do you even know how to make a bed?”

“With the risk of sounding like an asshole, I actually had a maid back in Paris who made my bed and cooked for me. So not really.”

“You were too busy with other stuff right?” Harry asks.

“Why do I sense that you’re slowly starting to think I’m an insufferable twat?”

“I don’t think that.” Harry says and walks over to take the sheets from his hands. “Not that it would matter.”

Louis doesn’t answer as he steps back to let Harry put the sheets on the bed the way they’re supposed to. He watches his with furrowed eyebrows and his hands propped on his hips.

When Harry turns around to see if Louis even paid attention, he finds him looking down at his ass. He doesn’t say anything though, but the smile playing on his lips for the rest of the day might give him away.

-

The first thing that David says to Harry when he enters the locker rooms on Friday is that he’s coming along to a pub crawl tonight with a few guys from the team.

“Who else is coming?” Harry asks as he mentally makes a plan to take some money from his dad before he leaves for Barcelona later that night.

“Herrera, Tomlinson, Van Persie and some guys Louis knows. You can bring your blond friend along too if you want.”

“Niall?”

“The irish guy.”

“Sure.” Harry smiles, thinking about how Niall will piss himself when he finds out about this.

As soon as the cart is loaded up and ready, he takes some time before heading out on the pitch to text Niall.

**_Harry:_ ** _soo De Gea told me to take you with us on a pub crawl tonight_

**_Barbara:_ ** _who??_

**_Harry:_ ** _Niall_

**_Barbara:_ ** _fuck u_

**_Niall:_ ** _fuck yeah!!! When and where? I’ll be at urs @ 7??_

**_Harry:_ ** _not sure yet_

**_Harry:_ ** _sorry barb it’s a lads night_

**_Niall:_ ** _but how did he ask? What did he say?_

**_Harry:_ ** _he told me to bring my blond friend along_

**_Harry:_ ** _the irish one_

**_Niall:_ ** _(beer emoji)(beer emoji)(beer emoji)_

Harry shakes his head and locks his phone, before he pushes it into the back pocket of his jeans. He’s the first one out on the pitch, so he sits down on one of the benches as he waits for the rest of the team to come out and finally start training.

He watches them do warm-ups as usual, and tries not to stare at Louis too much. He’s been doing that in the car enough already, since Louis has kept his word and drives him to work after dropping Zayn off.

“Getting bored?” Louis asks breathlessly when he runs up to Harry an hour later, hair sticking to his forehead.

“A bit.”

Louis pushes his sweaty fringe to the left and bends down to get his bottle of water, this time without Harry’s help.

“So I hear you’re coming along to the pub crawl tonight.”

Harry shrugs, digging his fingers into the bench.

“Are you sure you can handle all the alcohol?”

“Yeah, ‘m not a baby.”

“So are you saying you’re willing to drink with me?”

“I don’t think I can handle _that_ much alcohol though.” Harry smiles, squinting his eyes to look up at him.

“I knew you couldn’t.”

“Actually? Bring it on.”

“Are we making a bet?” Louis asks, and walks closer with a grin on his face.

“Yeah. We’re going to drink at the same time, and the first one to get drunk loses.”

“So what do I get when I win?”

“Well what do you want?” Harry asks and wonders if Louis took the question as sexually as it was intended.

“Hm…since I don’t have a pool, I get to come over one day and use it.”

“Sure. And what if I win?”

“Well what do _you_ want?”

Harry bites his lip. “What would you be willing to give me?”

“Anything. I’m not a wimp.”

“Nothing comes to mind right now.”

“How about a blowjob?”

Harry coughs and chokes on air. “Wha-seriously?”

“I’m willing to break some boundaries. Because I know I’ll win.”

“You’re willing to blow me?”

“That won’t happen.” Louis smirks and places the water bottle back in its place.

“You just motivated me to win this bet.”

Louis leans over and holds out his hand for Harry to shake.

“I’m a sore loser.” Is the last thing he says before he turns around to join his teammates back on the field.

They play a short game to see what they need to work on after the weekend, and then they’re dismissed for the day.

Harry waits around the locker rooms after he’s finished cleaning up, so Louis can drive him home as usual. The discussion about the bet they will have going on later tonight starts up as soon as Louis pulls out of the parking lot.

“Are you sure you don’t want to back down now?” Louis asks him, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the song.

“Yeah.”

“Alright then. But if you slip into an alcoholic coma I don’t want to be held responsible.”

“That won’t happen, don’t worry. The only time I passed out was on Niall’s eighteen birthday where I downed fifteen shots of Vodka in a span of ten minutes. And I didn’t die, so.”

“If you say so. I just thought I’d be nice and give you a warning.”

“I’m going to win this.” Harry states when they finally pull up in front of his house.

“You really want a blowjob so bad?” Louis laughs and stops the car.

“No, I just want to prove that you won’t keep your word about it.”

“I have never broken a bet or a promise in my entire life. Not about to start now.”

“Okay. At what time and where?”

“We meet in front of Temple at nine. Or is that too late for you?”

Harry shoots him a look before he gets out of the car and slams the door maybe a bit too hard behind him.

-

Niall arrives at Harry’s house exactly when he said he’d be there, and after an hour and a half of them playing FIFA in the living room, Harry finally goes upstairs to shower and get dressed.

His father hasn’t moved from the chair in the kitchen for the past three hours, so when Harry approaches him, he doesn’t ever bother to look up from the papers he’s currently reading.

“I’m going out.” Harry says and takes the wallet from the kitchen counter. His father doesn’t even flinch at the action.

“Take your keys because I have a flight at twelve so I leave in an hour.”

“When will you be back?”

“On Sunday evening because I have a charity gala on Monday and you’re coming with me.”

Harry sighs but doesn’t comment on it as he takes a fifty pound bill from his wallet. “I’ll manage.”

“I’ll leave you some money for food and if you run out just use your card.”

Harry nods. He already knows the drill, it’s nothing new.

Niall is waiting on him by the door with an expectant look on his face.

“Are we takin’ a taxi?”

“Yeah I’ll call one.”

The taxi arrives merely three minutes later, and at five past nine they’re already in front of the Temple Bar. They can’t see the other guys they’re supposed to meet up with outside, which means that they’re already inside at a table.

“Harry!” someone calls and Harry turns his head to see Ander waving at him from a table in the corner. David, Louis, Daley, and Robin are there too (it’s weird to call them by their first names but it would be even weirder if Harry called them by their last names to their faces).

They take up the last two empty seats at the table just as the waitress comes over, asking them what they’d like to order.

“I’d like a Jack and Coke.” Louis starts, looking at Harry curiously.

“Two.” Harry ads, shooting him a ‘yeah-that’s-right’ look.

The rest of the guys order too, before Niall starts talking about the Premier League.

When their drinks come, Harry tries to down it as soon as possible to get it out of the way.

“Go easy there Styles this is our first stop.” Louis chuckles as he sets his own empty glass down.

“Is there some kind of competition going on here?” David asks, pointing between the two of them.

“No.” they say at the same time.

When the discussion picks up again and the attention is shifted, Harry leans over to talk to Louis.

“Bring it on.” He says, winking. He can handle this.

Turns out, he can’t actually handle this. Two hours, three clubs, four cocktails, and five shots later, Harry is leaning against the bar in some club with his vision going cloudy. His head feels dizzy and Louis yelling into his ear about God-knows-what is not helping at all.

“Is that Liam?” Harry asks, pointing towards their booth.

“Yeah, he just got here with Sophia and Zayn. I’m feeling like a round of shots. You in?”

Harry turns his head with an annoyed expression. One more shot and he’ll be gone.

“Are you giving up?” Louis asks, smirking. “Just say the word and I’ll be happy to make an appointment to use your pool tomorrow right here and now.”

Louis’ words are slurred, but he’s definitely not as drunk as Harry. Which is not fair at all.

“Me? ‘m not giving up. Shots of what?”

“Vodka or Tequila?”

Harry scrunches his nose. “Tequila.”

Louis nods and orders four shots of Tequila with four lime slices and a bit of salt.

When the shots are placed in front of them, they move a bit to the right so they won’t be in the way to people who want to order.

“I’ll go first.” Louis says and takes a slice of lime between his fingers. “Tilt your neck.”

Harry doesn’t even register the words properly before he obeys, closing his eyes and gripping into the bar so he won’t fall off his feet.

He bites his lip when he feels cold liquid running down the side of his neck, and then Louis’ warm tongue lapping it all up before he takes the shot.

Harry looks up at him as his fingers skim his own shot glass, debating whether this is all worth it.

“Eh, fuck it.” he says and takes a slice of lime to suck it off Louis’ neck before taking the shot.

For a moment everything stops until the alcohol runs down his neck and stops into the pit of his stomach, leaving a hot trail behind.

“My insides are BURNING!” he yells and laughs, stepping back and losing his balance.

“Shit-fuck-are you okay?” Louis asks, gripping into his arm.

“Yeah…no. I think I’m going to be sick soon. I need some-“

“Fresh air.”

“Fresh air. Yeah. Sounds good.” Harry breathes and puts an arm around Louis’ shoulder, leaning against him so he won’t fall the second time.

As soon as they get outside, Harry untangles himself from Louis and sits down on the grass next to the building. He closes his eyes and lays down so he’s facing the sky.

“Are you okay mate?”

“No, I think I’m going to go to sleep.” Harry mumbles, crossing his ankles.

“Shit, don’t do that. I’ll get you home just-where’s your jacket?”

“In the coatroom.”

“Where’s your number?”

Harry squints his eyes because his head is pounding and he just wants to sleep.

“In my pocket. I don’t…” he trails off. He smells smoke, which means Louis must've lit up a cigarette and he would ask for one too, but he's too drunk.

He can hear Louis sigh before he feels a hand feeling him up really close to his crotch, until he finds the small number for the coatroom.

“I’ll be right back. Just-please don’t move. Please.”

“Couldn’t even if I tried.”

Louis is back in no time, announcing that he just called a taxi and that he should stand up.

“I can’t.”

“Jesus Christ…who thought this would be a good idea?” Louis asks himself as he struggles to lift Harry up. Harry clings to Louis’ shoulders and lets himself be dragged over to the taxi where he’s dropped in the backseat.

Louis tells the driver the address as he gets in the front seat, and doesn’t take his eyes off of Harry for the entire time it takes to get to Harry’s house. He pays the driver and then pulls Harry by his arms out of the backseat.

“Jesus, how much do you weigh?” Louis asks when he manages to open the gate with Harry’s keys.

Harry mumbles something unintelligible and then yelps when Louis suddenly lifts him up over his shoulder.

“This is…probably not the best…position.” He says. “But at least I get to see your ass.”

Louis gets him inside and drops him down on the couch, before he sits on the armrest with an exhausted expression.

“Shit. Never again.”

Harry snorts and tries to say something, anything, but he’s too far gone by the time he sees Louis standing up and taking off his jacket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter and whether I should continue the story in the comments :D
> 
> ! Since I'll be going on holiday next week, so the next update will be on August 15th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	5. The one with the pouting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter more than the last one ;) the story officially starts!
> 
> Thank you to my betas Ju and Sel for going over this chapter :)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Harry wakes up with his mouth open and a killer hangover. Last night comes back to him in bits and pieces, but he can’t remember how everything went down.

The first thing he notices is that he has drool on his cheek. The second thing is that he’s definitely not in his room, but in the living room on the couch downstairs. The third thing is Louis sitting on one of the armchairs, knees up to his chest while he’s sleeping.

Harry stretches his arms over his head and wipes his cheek before finally standing up to crack his back. The sun is shining quite annoyingly through the glass windows that have a view of the back garden, and Harry wonders why they haven’t gotten curtains yet. Even though no one could be able to see inside except for the people in the garden, the sun can be really irritating in the morning.

He makes himself a cup of coffee and scrolls through his Facebook feed as he leans against the counter. He glances at the clock on his phone and realizes that Zayn should be here soon so he might as well unlock the gate.

When Zayn arrives, Harry has already showered and changed into his swim trunks, and is currently leaning over the stove as he cooks his omelet.

“Why is Louis sleeping on your armchair?”

“I don’t really uh, remember last night.” Harry says, ashamed. “Had a bit too much to drink.”

Zayn shakes his head as he sets his backpack on the chair. “Did Lou also drink? Because he’s the worst when he’s hungover.”

“Yeah, we drank the same amount but he wasn’t really drunk. I mean-I think so.”

“He’s going to have a hangover nonetheless. You need to make him toast and orange juice, that usually helps.”

“Alright, I’ll do that.”

Zayn disappears outside so after Harry eats his omelet; he gets to work on Louis’ hangover breakfast. He’s almost done with the fresh orange juice when Louis enters the kitchen, rubbing his eyes.

“My head is fuckin’ pounding.” Louis mutters as he sits down at the table. He’s not wearing his jacket anymore, and the shirt he’s got on hangs low on his collarbones, showing off his tattoo.

Harry sets down the plate of food and the glass in front of him, and then sits down.

“Did Zayn tell you to do this?” Louis asks as he dives right into his toast.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t deserve him.”

Harry looks at his face, eyes roaming over his light morning stubble and sharp cheekbones, before they settle on his lashes.

“You were so drunk last night.” Louis continues.

“I don’t really remember much of it.”

“I had to carry you over my shoulder all the way from the front gate to the living room.”

“You actually managed to do that?”

“Are you saying I’m not strong enough to carry you?”

“Well…” Harry trails off with a teasing smile on his face. “No, I’m just taking the piss.”

Louis scrunches his nose and licks his lips when he’s finished with the food. He then downs the entire glass of orange juice before he leans back into the chair.

“So I won, therefore I get to spend the entire day at your pool.”

“Did I agree to this?” Harry asks, although he has absolutely nothing against it.

“Yeah you did when we made the bet.”

“But you don’t have any swim trunks here.” _I also wouldn’t mind you skinny dipping,_ Harry adds to himself.

“Oh come on, I’m sure you can find something to borrow me. Although I’m not sure if the space around the groin will suffice.”

“I think it will.” Harry states, to which Louis cocks his head and raises a brow.

“Well, there’s no way of proving it, now is there?”

Harry thinks he’s got himself in too deep with the flirting (is that what’s even happening here?), because he has nothing left to say. Nothing smart or funny anyway.

“You’ll have to wait and see.” He finds himself responding after a small pause, but he gets up and turns around to place the dishes in the dishwasher before Louis can see his blush.

“Show me to your room then.” Louis finally says, getting up from the table.

It’s the second time Harry chokes today. “Wh-what?”

“I need some swimming trunks, don’t I?”

“Oh…I thought you were going home to change.”

“Nah. Unless that’s a problem?”

“No-of course not. Follow me.”

Harry walks up the stairs chewing on his lip, feeling like there’s a heavy tension hanging now that they’re walking up to his room, although there would be no reason why.

“Nice room.” Louis says when he finally enters, eyeing the David Beckham and the Captain America posters hanging from Harry’s walls.

“Thanks.”

“Very manly.”

Harry rolls his eyes as he opens his closet and looks through his pool stuff until he finally finds what he’s looking for. A pair of blue swimming shorts that match his yellow ones.

“They’re so short.” Louis smiles but takes them from him nonetheless.

“Uh-you can change in the bathroom.”

“Thanks.”

“Wait-Louis?”

Louis turns his head with a questioning expression. “Hm?” “Are you sure you want to spend your day here? Like, with an eighteen year old?”

“Well, it’s better than going home and working on unpacking, isn’t it?” Louis replies before he disappears into the bathroom, closing the door behind himself.

Harry waits a couple of seconds before he finally changes into his yellow swim shorts, and then sits down on the bed to check his phone.

He’s got a few notifications on WhatsApp from Niall and Barbara, who are asking him what he’s doing today and if it would be okay if they came over to hang out at the pool.

**_Harry:_ ** _you’re friends with me just because of my pool, aren’t you?_

**_Niall:_ ** _I thought tht we already established tht :))_

**_Harry:_ ** _well you can come over but louis is also here_

**_Barbara:_ ** _Tomlinson????_

**_Harry:_ ** _yeah. Long story_

**_Niall:_ ** _we’ll be over in an hour_

**_Harry:_ ** _wait r u guys together rn?_

**_Niall:_ ** _:)_

**_Barbara:_ ** _:)_

The sound of the bathroom door opening distracts Harry from his phone, and when he looks up, Louis is standing there in his blue swimming shorts, which causes Harry’s mouth to go instantly dry.

Louis’ chest is toned and his abs are tanned, making Harry wish he could just run his tongue all over them. The shorts cover Louis’ upper thighs and his legs look so delicious, just good enough to bite into.

“You okay kid?” Louis asks with a smug expression as he lays his clothes on Harry’s bed, and takes his Marlboro pack out of his pants.

Harry furrows his brows. He doesn’t like Louis patronizing him and calling him ‘kid’ like he’s some four year old. He doesn’t say anything though.

“Niall and Barbara are coming over too.” He informs Louis as they walk downstairs to get outside.

“They’re your friends.”

Harry’s not sure how to respond to that, so he just scratches the back of his head as he holds the sliding door open for Louis.

Louis smiles over his shoulder. “What a gentleman.”

They settle next to each other on the loungers, and Louis waves at Zayn to come over. Zayn looks up from his phone, feet still dangling in the water. He throws Louis a questioning look; obviously too lazy to come over if it’s not urgent.

“What do you need from him?” Harry asks, putting his sunglasses on.

“Just want to see how he’s doing.”

“Do you want a drink or something? ‘cause I’m about to ask him for a mojito.”

“Two mojitos then. I haven’t had one in years.”

Harry nods and gets up to walk over to Zayn.

When he comes back with two mojitos in hand, Louis is smoking as he scrolls through his phone. He places the glass on the table between their lounge chairs.

“Here you go.” He says and sits down.

“Thanks pal.”

Harry leans back and takes a cigarette from Louis’ pack, eyes roaming over his golden legs because they’re just… _there_ and spread out, so _inviting_.

Luckily, his phone buzzes on the table so he picks it up without looking at the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey mate, we’re right outside!” Niall’s excited voice exclaims. “Open up!”

“Uhh…alright.” Harry says, and sees Zayn standing up from the poolside to stretch out and go inside. “Zayn will open it for you, just ring the doorbell.”

“Alright.”

Harry hangs up and bites into the inside of his cheek. He really wants to talk to Louis, about anything really, but he has no idea what to say. Or how to start a conversation for that matter. Because truth be told, Louis is kind of intimidating.

“So uh…how come you transferred from Paris Saint-Germain?”

Louis finally looks up at him, blows the smoke out of his mouth, and then puts the cigarette out in the ashtray.

“Well…I got a really good offer from Van Gaal, so I thought, why not move back to my home country and play for a team I’ve liked since I was a child?”

“Wow that’s cool.”

“Where did the question come from though?”

Louis looks at him questioningly, but he’s smiling in a nice way. Not the teasing way Harry’s used to.

“I just…I don’t want to sound like a loser, but I guess I just want to know stuff about you? Jesus, I sound like a stalker now.”

Harry is getting farther and farther away from his goal of not being an awkward teenager anymore.

“I hate awkward silence okay?” he continues, and all he wants to do is slap himself over the face. “I’m sorry. I’m probably making it even more awkward…er.”

Louis cackles. “I like you, Harry Styles.”

“Wha-“ Harry’s not sure what to say. “Thanks?”

Louis turns his head when he hears Niall and Barbara’s voices coming from the inside. The two of them step outside, already in their swimsuits (they probably changed inside), and go silent when they eye Harry and Louis.

“Hello.” Niall says, eyeing Louis and holding his hand out.

“Niall the Irish.” Louis smiles, shaking his hand.

“The one and only.”

“And this is your girlfriend? B…” “Barbara. Hi.” She smiles, also shaking his hand before the two of them settle down on the other loungers on Harry’s side.

It’s only a matter of time really, until Niall starts rubbing Barbara’s back with sun lotion and makes Harry want to gag when they inevitably makeout.

“I’m going in the pool. Anyone?” Harry asks, only looking at Louis.

“Sure.”

Louis stands up and cracks his back, before he goes to sit down at the edge of the pool to test the water.

“This must be killing you.” Niall loudly laughs and Harry flips him off.

“Weren’t you busy swallowing Barbara’s tongue?”

“Right.”

Harry turns around then, just in time to see Louis’ biceps bulging out as he lowers himself into the pool. He follows suit, but chooses the stairs instead.

Louis is leaning against the pool’s wall, eyes closed as he holds his head up towards the sun.

“I think your face is the only part of your body that’s not tanned.” Harry says, slowly walking towards him.

“You haven’t seen all my parts yet.”

Harry’s brows reach his hairline. “Yet?”

“What?”

“You said ‘yet’.” “No I don’t think I did.” Louis says, looking at him innocently.

Harry shakes his head and bits his lip.

“So have you seen your family since you got back to England?” he asks, trying to make conversations. He also lowkey wants to hear his voice. He’s a lost cause, and he’s known Louis for about three weeks.

“Not yet, but they’re all coming over next week for a family meal.”

“So you’ve got a big family?”

Louis turns his head to look at him. “I’ve got five sisters and a brother.”

“Wow. Large family. And they’re all younger, right?”

“What are you planning on doing with all this information? Are you running a blog about me?”

Harry blushes. Well, he _does_ have a Tumblr, but it’s not – _technically_ – about Louis. He just reblogs pictures of Louis (sometimes!) if they happen to cross his dash. (He followed five Louis Tomlinson blogs in the past three weeks but no one has to know.)

Harry hesitates maybe a second too long so it’s obvious when he answers. “No.”

“You’re lying,” Louis smirks.

“I’m not! I may reblog a few pictures here and there, but that’s it. Don’t flatter yourself.”

He wants to pat himself on the back for not shying away and standing up to Louis.

“What site is this on?”

“Tumblr.”

“So are there any blogs about me?” Louis continues.

“Of course there are. There is a blog about everything on Tumblr.”

Louis doesn’t say anything else so Harry thinks it might be a good time to start his ten-lap routine. When he finishes, Louis has his back turned to him as he talks to Zayn, who’s sitting cross-legged on the pool edge with a cigarette between his lips.

“The skate park? When?” he hears him ask.

Zayn looks at Harry for a second before answering. “At nine? Liam and Sophia are both free tonight and just want to chill. So I might bring my stuff.”

“Oh, good good. I’ll be there.”

When Zayn looks at Harry again, he pretends that he’s not listening.

“Do you want to bring Harry along too?” Zayn asks Louis, who turns his head to look at Harry over his shoulder.

“Sure, why not? Fun kid.”

“Good. Invite his friends too. The more the merrier.”

Louis nods as Zayn stands up.

“I’m done here. See you later.” Zayn says in Harry’s direction.

Harry nods at him and waves, reminding him to close the gate, and then hoists himself out of the pool. He shakes his head like a wet dog before he plops down on the lounger next to Niall.

Barbara is now reading a book and Niall is watching a video on YouTube, so he doesn’t bother them as he stretches his legs and closes his eyes so he can dry in the sun.

Louis joins them a minute later with a can of coke in hand. “I hope you don’t mind me taking a drink out of your fridge like I live here.”

“It’s fine, Stephanie goes grocery shopping every Monday and Thursday. We’ll manage.”

“So we’re going to the skate park later tonight, do you want to come?” Louis asks, directing his question at the three of them.

Niall nods of course, and Barbara follows his actions because his friends just _love_ the attention from football star Louis Tomlinson. Or it might just be in Harry’s head.

“What are you doing at the skate park?” Harry asks.

“Just you know…skateboarding?” Louis says like it’s obvious. “Haven’t done it since I left for Paris. Liam and Sophia are coming too, and maybe one of Zayn’s friends.”

“But I don’t know how to skateboard.”

“Then you can hold the bottle of Vodka we’ll bring along.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

Harry’s tactic of playing hard to get (trying to get Louis to plead for him to come along) doesn’t turn out as planned, but when did his plans ever work really?

Louis leaves an hour later with a small smile playing on his face after he reminds them that they meet at nine, and Harry makes sure he gets into the taxi before going back inside.

-

Harry might be in a crisis. And Niall might also want to proper murder him right now.

They’ve been in Harry’s room for at least an hour so he can finally pick something to wear for tonight, but he can’t decide between a white tee and a black one. He’s got his black skinnies on as per usual, and his red converse, but the shirt is the problem.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Niall groans as he watches Harry stand in front of the bed, looking down at the shirts with a serious look on his face and hands on his hips.

“No, I am not kidding you.”

“Who even _cares_ what shirt you fucking pick? It’s dark outside anyway, no one will see.”

“It’s about me Niall-“

“Just take the white one and let’s go.”

Harry looks at the white shirt.

“Are you sure? Because now that I think about it-“

“I’m leaving.” Niall announces and pushes himself off Harry’s wall with his shoulder, where he’s been leaning for the past thirty minutes.

“No, okay. Fine! I’m taking the white one.”

Harry pulls it over his head and turns to look at himself in the mirror. He drops his head to ruffle through his curls before he swipes them to the left.

“Now I’m done.”

Niall rolls his eyes and checks the clock on his phone. “It’s already a quarter past nine. Barbara will kill me for being late. She hates it when I’m late.”

Harry ignores him as he makes sure he turned off every single light in the house, that Ernie has his food, and that he’s got his keys, wallet, and phone in the pockets of his jeans.

They share a taxi since they’re already late and Harry has a few pounds to spare thanks to his father, so eight minutes later they’re entering the skate park.

He can already see Zayn on one of the ramps, and Louis talking to a brown-headed girl as Liam talks to Barbara about God knows what.

“Look who finally showed up.” Louis says when he spots them coming closer. “I was just about to go over to the supermarket and get the bottle myself. Care to accompany me?”

Harry nods, and smiles in Liam’s direction as a hello. He makes a mental note to introduce himself to the girl who’s probably Liam’s girlfriend as soon as he gets back.

“Vodka right?” Harry asks him when they’re in the spirits section of the store.

“Of course.”

Harry makes a face but grabs it from the shelf nonetheless.

“You don’t like Vodka?” Louis asks.

“Not really. But I’ll manage.”

Louis shrugs and walks over to the crisps aisle to get a bag of cheese flavored Doritos.

“Oh, you’ll have to take two because Niall will eat one of these in like two minutes.”

Louis laughs and takes one more, before they head for the checkout.

When they get back to their group, the skate park isn’t as crowded as before; there are only two other guys doing tricks with their BMX’s left.

Harry sits down next to Barbara and Liam’s girlfriend on the benches while the two of them are talking about clothes.

“Hi, you must be Sophia.” Harry says and holds out a hand. “’m Harry.”

“Hi.” She kindly smiles as she shakes his hand.

“How long have you and Liam been dating?” Harry asks, trying to make conversation after a while of watching the guys on the ramps.

“Three years in the fall.”

“Whoa, that’s a lot. And don’t you get bored?”

“No.” she laughs. “We’ve only had one major fight so far and it was over what to order for dinner. We didn’t speak to each other for two days.”

“I want a relationship like that.” Barbara sighs, glancing towards Niall. “Although I don’t think we’ll ever fight over food.”

“I get bored easily.” Harry admits, looking over at Louis who is currently skating around while talking on his phone. He realizes that the two guys on their bikes have now stopped what they were doing and are staring right at Louis, whispering. They’re probably wondering if it really is Louis Tomlinson, and if they should go up to him and ask for a picture.

Eventually, one of them leaves his bike against the fence and walks over to Louis who has now stopped talking on the phone.

“Hey mate, can we get a picture with you? We’re big fans.”

Louis smiles. “Of course.” He turns his head to look at Harry. “Harreh, come take a picture of us will you?”

Harry places the bottle and the bags on the bench so he can walk over to take a picture. The two guys get on either side of Louis, who steps on his skateboard so he can be the same height as them.

He takes two pictures with one of the phones, and then he’s handed another. The flash goes off twice before he hands the phones back to the guys.

“Thank you. Good luck in the league.” One of the guys says and pats Louis on the shoulder right before they leave.

“Do people always walk up to you and ask for pictures?” Harry asks Louis.

“Not really. Once a week. Maybe twice. If you see those pictures going around on that Tumblr of yours, send them to me.”

“Uh…on Facebook? Or? Because I don’t have your phone number.”

“Gimme your phone, I’ll type it in.” Louis says and Harry takes a moment while Louis types his number to wonder if this was a smooth way to exchange digits. Probably not.

Louis’ phone buzzes in his pocket a few seconds later, and he nods as he hands the phone back to Harry.

“Who wants to drink?” Niall yells, startling Harry.

He’s standing by the bench with the Vodka bottle in hand, grinning at Harry questioningly.

“I do.” Zayn says and walks over to sit down on the bench.

Harry takes the last available space next to Liam, which means that Louis has to stand facing them, but he doesn’t seem to mind as he pulls out his cigarette pack.

“Isn’t Perrie coming mate?” Louis asks Zayn as he opens the bottle.

“Nah. Couldn’t make it after all.”

“You have a girlfriend?” Harry asks.

“I don’t have a girlfriend. Not yet.”

“So you’re into casual stuff then?”

Harry thinks he might sound like he wants to get into Zayn’s pants-well, that wouldn’t be entirely untrue.

Louis, Liam, and Zayn laugh.

“What’s so funny? It was just a question.” Harry pouts.

“I’m asexual.” Zayn tells him before he takes a swig from the bottle. His face contorts at the taste and then he hands the bottle to Niall.

“So you don’t feel attracted to people?”

“Not sexually. I’ve had relationships but they’ve all ended because I didn’t want to do more than, you know, cuddling and a bit of kissing.”

“Cheers to that!” Niall says and tips the bottle.

“How much do we want to bet that Harry is going to be the first one to get drunk?” Louis asks when the bottle is finally in Harry’s hands.

“Heyyy.”

Harry takes a small sip nonetheless, and then hands the bottle over to Louis.

“Correct me if I’m wrong.” Louis defends himself after a shot.

They pass the bottle between them three times until it’s finally empty, and Harry knows he’s tipsy from only four shots. Maybe Louis is right. He really can’t handle his alcohol that well, even though studies show that people with light-colored eyes have a higher tolerance.

The Vodka seemed to have kicked in for everyone though, because Zayn is already rolling a joint, Barbara is straddling Niall as they kiss, and Liam and Sophia have left because apparently they’ve got ‘business to get to’, which is probably code for ‘we want to fuck’.

Louis takes a seat between Harry and Niall/Barbara, and asks Zayn to come over so they can share the spliff. It’s smaller than last time, probably because they’ve also had to drink a few minutes ago.

“Do the honors?” Zayn asks, handing it to Louis.

Louis happily takes the joint and takes the first drag. He exhales it into Harry’s face with a playful smirk, and holds it out to him.

“No thanks.”

“Your choice kid.” Louis shrugs and moves his hand so Zayn can take it.

Okay, Harry’s had enough.

“You know what? I’m sick of you calling me ‘kid’ like I’m five years old, okay? Just because you’re a few years older doesn’t mean you have the right to patronize me.” He says, and he’s sure that it’s the alcohol talking, or at least giving him the courage to.

Louis stares at him in awe, and Zayn doesn’t even seem bothered by the situations surrounding him as he continues smoking and scrolling on his phone.

“I’m sorry.” Louis starts, staring at Harry with hazy eyes. It’s obvious that the alcohol combined with the weed has also affected him. “That wasn’t my intention.”

“I know it probably wasn’t, but it makes me feel inferior and…like a loser.”

Harry is pouting now because his head is spinning and he wants to kiss Louis’ shiny lips _so_ bad, but he refrains himself.

“Stop pouting.” Louis tells him and it sounds like a warning.

“No.” Harry challenges.

“Are you hurt now?” Louis coos, like he’s talking to a little baby, just to spite him.

“Fuck you.”

Louis laughs. “You wish.”

Harry looks down at his hands.

“Do you want me to kiss it better?”

His head whips up at Louis, not really believing that he heard it right.

“What?”

“Do you want me to kiss it better.”

“Uh…kiss what?”

Louis slaps himself over his face. “How are you even real?”

“It’s just that what you asked from me is a bit unclear and you said you’re straight but then again…” Harry starts drunkenly rambling so he almost doesn’t notice when Louis lets out a frustrated sigh and leans in.

There’s a hand on the back of his neck as he’s suddenly being pulled forward, and Louis’ lips are right in front of him and they’re touching his own.

Harry doesn’t do anything for a split of a second, before he finally opens his mouth to kiss back.

And honestly, the kiss is probably the best one Harry’s ever had. It’s slow and filthy because Louis apparently likes it deep, but he’s not one to complain.

Louis’ hand has moved from the back of his neck to his cheek so now he’s cupping it as their tongues rub against each other. Harry really hopes that his pants don’t betray him now because there’s a situation going on downstairs due to Louis’ licks and the small whimpers he’s letting into his mouth.

Just when he thinks things can’t get better, Louis makes a move to straddle him, but accidentally hits Zayn in the elbow.

“Okay, I’m done with you two.” Zayn huffs, which causes Louis to break away from the kiss.

Zayn stands up and hands the spliff over to Louis.

“I’m going home.” He announces as he takes his skateboard under his arm. He’s not mad though, just sleepy and really high.

“Alright mate, see you tomorrow.”

Harry doesn’t even register Zayn leaving though, because he can still feel his lips tingling from Louis’ touch, but he knows he’s not bold enough to make the first move.

All he has to do is wait now until another opportunity presents itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> ! Next update will be on August 30th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	6. The one with the babies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter more than the last one ;) the story officially starts!
> 
> Thank you so much to my beta Ju for reading through the chapter for me :)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

“Wow, they’re really going at it aren’t they?” Louis asks Harry, nodding over at Barbara and Niall.

“Well, that’s like twelve years of pent up sexual frustration so I’m not really surprised. I’m just glad I’m not third-wheeling anymore.”

Louis takes the joint to his lips and takes two long drags before holding them in. He releases the smoke in Harry’s face.

“Want some?”

“Nah, ‘m good.”

“Hey, about earlier…sorry about calling you kid.”

Harry shakes his head. “You already apologized, it’s fine.”

“Maybe I just want you to pout again so I can have a reason to wipe it off your face.”

Harry’s eyes widen. “That’s not-you’re not subtle at all.”

“I don’t want to be subtle.” he says, and Harry suddenly finds himself with a lapful of Louis.

His thighs are straddling Harry’s, and his arms are now wrapped around his shoulders. Harry’s hands come down to grip into Louis’ hips before he leans in.

Their lips brush for a few seconds before they finally clash together. It’s more frantic this time; all messy tongue movements and heavy breaths, but Harry loves it.

He tries to pull Louis as close as he can into his chest because he wants _moremoremore_.

Harry’s not sure how or when it happens, but all he knows is that Louis is now grinding down on him and letting out shaky breaths into his mouth while cupping his face with both hands.

“Louis…” he breathes when Louis pulls away from his lips so he can kiss down his neck.

“Mm?”

“You just-I think you should stop if you don’t want this to um-continue.”

Louis pulls his face back and looks down at Harry’s lap, where he’s sporting quite a generous erection.

“Alright. If that’s what you want.”

“Fuck it’s not-it’s not what I want. Definitely not. Just not… _here_.”

Louis smiles and stands up, stretching.

“We should head home.”

Harry turns his head to look at Niall and Barbara who have-surprisingly-stopped making out and are just watching them now.

“Alright.”

“Can I sleep over?” Niall asks.

Harry shrugs. “Of course.”

Barbara doesn’t ask if she can, so Harry doesn’t bother being polite this time. It’s just one less person he needs to worry about hearing him jerking off as soon as they get inside.

“I’ll drop you off on the way with my taxi.” Louis assures her so she won’t have to be on her own at night.

“I don’t think I’m in your way.” She responds when Harry picks up the empty bottle and lets the remains of the joint fall in there.

“Where do you live?”

“Fallowfield.”

“It’s fine.”

Barbara smiles, and it’s obvious judging by the way she walks in front of them that she’s a bit drunk.

“Thanks for taking her home mate.” Niall tells Louis when two taxis finally arrive. Barbara kisses him on the cheek and then climbs into one of them.

“Of course.”

They shake hands, and Niall walks over to the other taxi.

Louis turns to Harry with a smile. “See you on Monday k-Harry.”

Harry dumbly nods and watches Louis get into the taxi before he can finally turn around to join Niall.

As soon as they get into Harry’s room, Niall jumps on the bed and Harry walks into the bathroom, locking the door behind himself.

“Mate, I don’t even want to know what you did in there.” Niall tells Harry when he finally comes out, with a sleepy smile on his face and a towel around his waist.

“I had a wank.”

Niall buries his face in the pillows. “Uugh. Tmi bro.”

“Don’t call me bro. I hate that word.”

Harry changes into a pair of briefs before he gets into the bed on Niall’s other side, and pulls the covers up to his chest.

“Night.”

“Goodnight.” Niall mumbles, and it doesn’t take long for him to start snoring like a tractor.

Harry moves on his side and puts a pillow over his ear, trying to tune out Niall’s sounds, eventually managing to fall asleep.

-

Niall leaves on Sunday afternoon when the two of them wake up, so Harry spends it up in his room with his laptop over his thighs. He’s online shopping for some basic Uni supplies when there’s a knock on his door.

Harry frowns, because his father never comes to his room. The only reason he sets foot on the second floor is if he has some work in his office, but that’s really rare since he’s usually on business trips.

“Uh…come in?”

The door opens and Zayn enters with a hesitant look on his face. Harry frowns, closing his laptop to give him his full attention.

“Is everything okay? Did something happen?”

“Yes.” Zayn says and sits down on Harry’s side of the bed by his feet. “Yesterday happened.”

Harry’s smile fades. “Oh.”

“Look…you and Louis-I get it. I mean, I get that you’re attracted to him and what not, but just…don’t take anything seriously.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know Lou. I’ve known him for more than half of his life. He’s not the relationship type.”

“I don’t want a relationship with him.” Harry snorts.

“Let me rephrase that; he’s not one to make commitments. He just like flirting with people and making them feel important, even though it doesn’t mean anything.”

“So he just goes around kissing people whenever he feels like it?”

Zayn nods. “Yes. Louis is the type of person who likes having fun without any consequences.”

“Why are you telling me this? Do you think that just because I’m eighteen that I’m going to fall in love with him after a kiss?”

“No man. I just don’t want you to have any expectation from him.”

“I don’t.”

“Alright then, I’m glad we settled this. I better get back to work.”

Harry waits for him to leave the room and shut the door until he gets back to his online shopping. He tries not to look too much into what Zayn just told him, and he succeeds.

For the most part.

-

Everything goes as usual until Wednesday for Harry; Louis picks him up every morning to drive them both to the training center, flirts with him (at least Harry thinks he does when Louis bends over in front of him to tie his shoelaces and envelops the bottle neck with his lips like he’s blowing someone) throughout practice, and then drives him back to his house.

“My family is coming to Manchester tomorrow.” Louis says as soon as he stops the car in front of Harry’s house.

When Louis drops him off they usually just say their goodbyes, so Harry turns his head to look at him, waiting for Louis to continue.

“And I have to take care of the twins while the girls and Dan go shopping.”

“How does this concern me?” Harry asks, confused.

“You mentioned that you like kids, right?”

“Yeah, I used to babysit for my neighbors.”

“How would you feel if I paid you to babysit them tomorrow and the day after that?”

“You really want to pay someone to watch your two siblings that you haven’t seen in a long time while you do God knows what?”

“Wait-no no no. I’ll be there too, but I don’t think I can handle two one and a half year olds on my own.”

“Oh, I think you can manage.”

“So you don’t want twenty pounds an hour to take care of some cute little kids?”

“No, but I-wait, twenty quid an hour? How much trouble are these kids causing?”

Louis smiles. “You’d be surprised. So you in?”

“I’ll need more details.”

“They’re going to arrive tomorrow around noon, and I’ll be responsible for the twins after we have lunch…so from three until about ten when they get back from the mall.”

“If you’re willing to pay me a hundred pounds to watch two small children while you’re also there?”

Louis shrugs, tapping his thumbs over the steering wheel. “You are saving up for a car, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“How much do you have so far?”

Harry looks down at his lap, ashamed. “Forty pounds.”

Louis is about to say something when there’s a sudden tap on their window, which startles them both. Zayn is staring at them so Harry just tells Louis that he’ll see him tomorrow before he gets out of the car to let Zayn in.

“So I finally decided what I want to do for my birthday on Saturday.” Barbara says later that night when Niall, her, and Harry are having a joint Skype conversation.

“What?” Niall asks, and it comes out as a muffled ‘hua’ because he’s currently shoving Ramen noodles into his mouth.

“I was thinking about taking a few friends out to the club and standing everyone to a treat.”

“You really want to pay for everyone’s drinks at the club?” Harry asks disbelievingly as he stares at himself on the screen.

“Mum told me she’d pay for everything because I got into Uni.”

“Well I’m not complaining.” Niall laughs and wipes his face.

"Who are you planning on inviting then?" 

"No more than ten people. You guys, obviously. Then Kylie, Taylor, and Jade. I'm thinking also Sophia and Liam?" 

"Sophia and Liam?" Harry asks, surprised. 

"Yeah. Turns out, she works at Top Shop right across from me and we get along really well. Also Zayn?" 

"Do you even have his number?" 

"I do." She says matter-of-factly. "Then there's this guy Kylie's been seeing-Josh. And maybe Louis? If you want to." 

"You want to invite Louis?" Harry asks disbelievingly. 

"Hell yeah invite him!" Niall exclaims. 

"So do you want me to invite him or not?" 

"Am I supposed to ask him?" 

"Yeah. Or Niall can just text him." 

"How do you have his phone number? What is going on?" 

Niall waves his hand dismissively. 

"Doesn't matter. I'll text him right now." 

"Wait don't-" 

Niall pauses and looks up from his phone. "What?" 

"Don't tell him it's because of me. Tell him Barbara wants him to come." 

"Alright." Niall laughs and types something on his phone. 

Two minutes later his phone beeps and he looks down. "He said of course mate." 

"Great! I'll call the club tomorrow and make a reservation for ten people then." 

"Is it going to be on Saturday or Sunday?" 

"Saturday because we both got work in the morning." She tells Harry. "Actually, I'll call them now." 

They listen to her make a reservation under her name before they agree to go to sleep. 

\- 

The following day Louis drives them both over to his house to wait for his family to arrive. He's not sure why he feels nervous because it's not like he's meeting his boyfriend's parents or something, so there's no reason to feel like he should make an impression on them. Still, he's wearing a button up and his blue jeans that he never pulls out of the closet unless he has to take drastic measures. This morning he wasn't ever sure whether they'd still fit since he hasn't worn them in months when all his black skinnies were somehow in the wash. Harry thinks that choosing to wear a button up to work might have not been such a great idea since he's all sweaty now.

“You okay?” Louis asks after he shoots him a quick look as he drives.

“Yeah just…it’s really hot in here.”

Harry pulls at his collar and rolls down the window.

“Who forced you to wear a button up to practice today?”

“I just wanted to…look good. Professional.”

“For who?”

“Uh…your family? I guess.”

“Why would you do that?” Louis laughs, shaking his head.

“Well, I am going to watch the twins today so I want to make a good impression.”

“Suuure.”

Louis parks the car in his garage a few minutes later, and by the time they enter his house Harry is already out of his mind.

“Okay I have to change. I can’t take this anymore.”

“You don’t have a change of clothes with you.”

“Do you have like…a large shirt? Or whatever.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “You don’t think my normal clothes fit you?”

“We’re different sizes Louis.” Harry states as he follows Louis up the stairs.

“No we’re not. What shirt size are you?”

“L.”

“That’s not possible. You’re skinny.”

“Yeah but I’m tall and sometimes the M sizes don’t fit me.”

“You’ll manage.” Louis mumbles and opens the door that leads to his walk-in closet.

It looks like he finally got around to cleaning up and getting everything in order, because the closet is now organized and actually clean.

“You did this yourself?” Harry asks while Louis walks over to the shirt racks and looks through them.

“No. Sophia helped me two days ago with organizing my closet, but the house is all me. And you.”

Louis picks a plain white shirt and hands it to Harry.

“Where should I um, change?”

“Just take your shirt off Harold.”

Harry makes a face but obliges nonetheless. When he pulls Louis’ shirt over his head, he’s not really surprised that it doesn’t fit.

“It’s to small.”

“What do you mean? It’s fits perfectly.”

“Louis. My nipples are pushing for air and I can’t breathe. Also, my belly button is showing.”

Harry turns to look at himself in the mirror. “I look fuckin’ ridiculous.”

“Oh stop being so dramatic.”

“I’m going to suffocate. What size is this?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Louis says but Harry takes off the shirt anyway to look at the size.

“Is it-oh my God, it’s size small.”

“Can you just give it to me?”

Harry laughs as Louis puts the shirt back and pulls out another.

“Is this small? Or extra small?” Harry laughs out loud.

“Fuck you.”

“I’m just joking, don’t take it too seriously.”

Harry pulls a black Vans shirt over his head, then turns to look in the mirror.

“This is better. Biggest shirt you own?”

“Not really. Just had to get this size because of my pecks and my biceps.”

Harry snorts. “I’m sure.”

The doorbell rings at the same time Harry shakes his hair out to move it to the side.

“Shit, they’re already here. What time is it?”

Harry checks the clock on his phone. “Half past one.”

“We have a lunch at two.”

“Wha-are you serious? What am I supposed to do while you have lunch with your family?”

“What do you mean? You can come with us, they don’t bite. Actually-Ernest might bite.”

Harry runs his hands through his hair. “I didn’t sign up for this. I don’t really think I should attend a family lunch.”

“Okay then.” Louis sighs. “Will you wait for me here? I won’t be long. One and a half hour tops.”

“I’ll wait for you here.”

Louis nods and quickly changes into a pair of jeans and a band shirt before looking at himself in the mirror to fix his hair. He sprays a ridiculous amount of cologne on himself after that, which makes Harry cough.

“Alright I’m off now. Promise not to sniff through my underwear drawer!” is the last thing Louis says before he’s out the door and down the stairs.

While Louis’ gone, Harry makes himself busy with cleaning up the place. He washes the empty cereal bowl that was left on the coffee table in the living room this morning; he does a round of laundry, and then takes out the already overflowing trash from under the kitchen sink.

Harry checks the time after he’s done everything to keep himself busy and finally sits down on the couch, only to see that only forty minutes have gone by.

He turns on the TV and leaves it on Nickelodeon, not as surprised as he should be when he realizes that Louis was watching that this morning.

During commercial break, he logs on Tumblr to aimlessly reblog some posts to let his 600 followers (that probably don’t care) that he’s still alive. He stops as soon as he sees a set of four pictures dated _9/07._ There are four paparazzi pictures posted by _fuckyeahtomlinson_ of Louis with his family out for lunch at some fancy terrace.

He likes the post and scrolls further, but curiosity gets the better of him so he goes back to the pictures to look at them closer. Louis is sitting between who Harry assumes are his mother and his stepfather, laughing at something one of his sisters just said. There are four snapshots of the moment from the same angle, so Harry finally moves on.

Louis comes home an hour later, carrying two children in each arm. The boy is pulling at his hair and the girl is laughing about it, which makes a perfect sight for Harry.

“Need help?” Harry asks and walks over, glad that he doesn’t have to sit on the couch anymore.

“Yeah. Can you take Ernest please? He’s killing me hair.”

Harry nods and takes the boy from Louis’ arm, holding him to his chest with one arm under his bum.

“So what do you want to do today?” Louis asks when they set the twins down in the living room.

“Ice cream!” Doris shouts and clings to his legs.

“Ernie?”

Harry smiles at the nickname.

“Ice cream!”

“Your mother told me not to give you ice cream.” Louis says, walking out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Harry calls after him.

“To put my shoes back on. We’re taking them out for froyo.”

“But you just said-“

“It’s not ice cream, is it?” Louis smirks. “Come on, my treat.”

Harry sighs and picks up Doris, and then takes Ernie by the hand as they follow Louis out of the house. He ends up sitting in the back with the twins, since Louis doesn’t own any car seats for children.

“I was about to buy some car seats for them but then I remembered that they’re going to be here for two days before they jet off to Paris.”

“How come they’re going to Paris?”

“Well I haven’t sold my house yet and the documents are still processing so I thought it would be nice to fly them out to France since they’re never been there.”

“That’s nice of you.” Harry smiles as he pulls Ernie’s hand away from the door handle.

“Yeah. I’m a perfect son.”

The frozen yoghurt parlor is three minutes by car from Louis’ house, and as soon as Louis parks across the street, the twins are already eager to get out.

“I saw a few pictures of you with your family out for lunch today.” Harry tells Louis as they wait in line. Doris has already started to like Harry (even more than she likes Louis maybe), and is now clinging to his pinky finger.

“On Tumblr?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe I should make one, just to see what everyone is saying about me.”

“The people I follow mostly talk about your ankles and your arse.” Harry tells him and finally lifts Doris up in his arms.

“Are you one of them?”

“No.” Harry frowns. “Well, they’re not exactly _talking_ about those body parts, they mostly do like, appreciation posts.”

“You have to show me one when we sit down.”

When it’s finally their turn to order, Louis gets a cup of yoghurt with every single topping on it, which doesn’t surprise Harry in the slightest.

“Cheat day.” Louis tells him once they finally sit down.

Harry ordered a cup of yoghurt with cut up strawberries, and the twins both got yoghurt with rainbow colored sprinkles.

“What’s that?”

“We have this strict diet we have to follow during the League season when we’re not allowed to eat junk food or anything else that isn’t included in our nutrition sheet, but we can have one day where we like, eat all those things.”

“And today is the day?”

“Seems like it. So we’re probably going to stop at McDonald’s when I drive you home tonight.”

Harry nods as Doris climbs into his lap and continues eating her portion.

“So show me those appreciation posts or whatever they are.”

“Right.”

Harry takes out his phone and clicks on the Tumblr icon, before he types ‘louis Tomlinson appreciation post’ in the search bar.

The first thing that pops up is ‘Louis Tomlinson biceps masterpost’, and Harry places the phone on the table so Louis can see it too.

“So these are like videos-“

“Gifs. They’re called gifs.”

“Okay. So these are _gifs_ taken from interviews and games and behind the scenes footage praising my biceps?” Louis grins.

“Yeah.”

“Can you share the post? Or how does it work on this site so all your friends can see?”

“We have followers, and you have to reblog so the post will appear on your dashboard and blog.”

“So reblog it. And like it.”

Harry scrolls a bit further down until he reaches the reblog button, and his cheeks heat up when he sees that he’s already reblogged the post and even liked it.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve already liked the post.”

Louis smirks at him. “Can you make me a blog?”

“What for?”

“Well why do you have one?”

Harry holds his hand out for Louis’ phone, and then proceeds to download the Tumblr app.

“Okay so you have to put your email and a password first.” He says and hands the phone back to Louis.

While Louis types, Harry busies himself with cleaning Doris’ mouth, who has somehow managed to get yoghurt even in her hair.

“Alright, done.”

“Good. Now think of an url.”

“Louistomlinson.”

“It doesn’t work.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t work?”

“I mean someone already took that username.”

“Ugh, fine. Try louiswtomlinson.”

“Also taken.”

Louis exhales. “Lwtomlinson?”

“It works.”

“Finally.” Louis smiles.

“Now you have to find your interests and follow five blogs. What do you like?”

“I like pizza. And football.”

“Alright?” Harry says confused, following a bunch of random photography blogs.

“Oh, and follow your blog too.”

“You don’t want me to-“

“Yeah I do.”

“I don’t post anything interesting-“

“Just follow your damn blog.”

“Lou said a bad word!” Doris exclaims and points at Louis with her spoon.

“Damn isn’t a bad word. Fuck is a bad word.”

“Louis!” Harry says, covering her ears.

“What? They’re going to learn those words at some point anyway.”

“You’d be the worst parent ever.”

“Kids love me.” Louis protests and takes his phone back from Harry’s hands.

“Only because you sometimes act like a three year old.”

“Said the eighteen year old manchild.”

“Heyyy.”

“Did you know that you look like a frog when you say that?”

“Hey-no.” Harry pouts, stabbing his yoghurt with his spoon.

“Don’t pout now. You know what happens when you start pouting.”

“What?” Harry asks, his heart rate picking up.

“Don’t make me show you in front of the children.”

Harry smiles down at his frozen yoghurt, and doesn’t get to say anything else because Doris turns around and digs her sticky fingers in his hair.

-

The twins fall asleep on Harry at ten minutes past eight, so he has a bit of trouble sitting up from the couch to greet Louis’ family when they come bustling through the door later that evening. Their sleeping session is cut short when someone yells at someone else, then there’s a commotion, and people are arguing just as a woman enters the living room.

“Oh look at them!” Louis’ mum gushes when he sees them in the living room, watching FRIENDS.

Louis gets up from the couch to help them with their shopping bags.

“Who is this?” An older sister with blonde hair and flawless makeup asks when she eyes Harry on the couch.

“I’m Harry. Uh…Louis’ friend.”

“Friend?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest and stepping closer. “Just friend?”

“Lottie!” Louis’ voice comes from the hallway.

“I’m Lottie by the way.”

Harry holds out his hand to shake hers with a smile.

“I’m Jay, Louis’ mum. Let me just get these two out of your hair.” His mother smiles and bends down to take Doris into her arms.

Lottie takes Ernie from Harry’s chest so he can finally stand up and stretch.

“Are you leaving?” he asks them when he sees the door open and another set of blonde twins following a tall brunette out.

“We’re sleeping at a hotel until tomorrow since Louis doesn’t have enough space here.” Jay explains before she exits the house. Harry leans against the doorframe as he watches them pile into two taxis, and wonders if it was rude of him not to introduce himself to everyone.

When the cabs finally turn the corner, Louis exhales and turns to face him with his hands on his hips.

“Jesus. They’re a handful.”

“More like two handfuls. You’ve got a big family. Seven kids, wow.”

“All this chaos made me hungry. Come on, I’ll drive you home and we can stop at a drive thru on the way.”

Harry nods and walks back inside to put his shoes on.

It’s ten minutes to nine when they stop at a McDonald’s drive thru and order two cheeseburgers, one hamburger, two large portions of fries, and two large cokes.

Louis parks in a parking lot across from McDonald’s, and they eat in the car with the windows down since it’s really hot and Louis claims he doesn’t want the fast food smell getting into his leather seats. Which doesn’t really make sense since he’s been smoking in the car every time Harry’s been with him so far.

“So what’s going on this Saturday with your friends? I didn’t really get it when Niall asked me.”

“Oh. Barbara is turning nineteen on Sunday and she wants to take a few friends out to a club.”

“Does she consider me a friend?” Louis asks with his mouth full of fries.

“Well, yeah. I mean, I consider you a friend, so she considers you a friend. And she also gets along really well with Sophia-“

“It’s fine. You probably need a chaperone there.” Louis teases.

“Heyyy. We’re adults.”

“Oh, I meant just you. Remember last time we went out to a bar and you got fuckin’ mortal?”

Harry looks away from Louis’ face. “Yeah.”

“I don’t want that happening again. Hangovers suck.”

Harry downs the last remains of his coke and then crumples his trash in a ball before he tries to throw it in the rubbish bin outside their car.

“Score.” Louis smiles when the trash falls in the bin. “Do mine now.”

“Wh-what?”

“I said, throw my trash out. Not do _me_.” Louis snorts and hands Harry his own paper bag.

Harry also hits the bin this time, and after a small smoke break in the car, Louis finally decides to drive him home since it’s ‘probably past Harry’s bed time anyway’ – as he put it.

“If you do one more age joke I’m never going to speak to you again I swear.” Harry finds himself saying as soon as the bed time joke leaves Louis’ mouth.

“I’m sorry, I’m an asshole. But usually with the people I feel comfortable with. If you don’t know me, I’m a really nice guy.”

“In a weird way, what you just said actually made sense.”

“Of course it did Harold.”

Harry rolls his eyes and looks out the window as Louis finally takes a turn on his street. He stops the car in front of the mechanic gate as usual, and waits for Harry to get inside like a proper gentleman before he drives off.

-

“Do we even have reservations?” Harry asks two days later as they wait in line to get into Tiger Tiger, one of their favorite clubs. It was the first club Harry ever got into when he was sixteen, and also the first club he ever got drunk in. He usually knew most of the people inside from other schools.

In fact, he’s already recognized about fifteen people in line who used to be in his year.

“Yeah, she made reservations two days ago. Jesus, it’s like the whole school is here.” Niall says and looks around after getting on his tiptoes.

Now that Barbara is with her girlfriends, and Liam, Zayn and Sophia haven’t arrived yet, Niall is paying much more attention to Harry than usual.

Jade, one of Barbara’s friends - also a girl who Harry would sometimes talk to at parties - is eyeing him insistently, so he tries to look as little as possible in that direction.

There are two more groups in front of them before they finally get their turn, so Harry pulls his phone out to text Louis.

**_Harry:_ ** _where r u? we’re up in 5 mins_

The reply comes merely a few seconds later.

**_Louis:_ ** _in the cab. B there in 3 :)_

Surprisingly, Louis is true to his word because a taxi pulls up right next to their group and Liam, Zayn, Sophia, and Louis himself climb out of it.

Harry can see a few girls behind them already starting to whisper and eye Louis, probably recognizing him, but he doesn’t pay them much attention. Instead, he’s too focused on the incredible way Louis looks tonight; with a white graphic t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and a pair of black Vans, not to mention how his hair is swooped to the right.

He’s got droopy eyes, which either means that he’s already sleepy or that they smoked a spliff before they came here. Judging by the way Zayn is laughing into his neck, the second option seems like the ideal one.

While they wait in line, Harry gathers some photos from his camera roll with Barbara and him to make them into a nice collage, so he can post them at 12am sharp for her birthday.

“Reservation for ten people under Palvin?”

“Barbara?” the bouncer asks, checking his list.

“Yes. From eleven to four.”

“Alright, let me see some ID’s.”

The man apparently only wanted ID’s from the people in Harry’s year, not Liam, Sophia, or Zayn.

“Oh, Mr. Tomlinson. What a pleasure to meet you.” He says just as Louis wants to walk past him.

“Hi.” Louis smiles and shakes his hand. The man also asks for an autograph on the top of the list, and once they’re done he wishes all of them a good night.

“Jesus, you’re like a celebrity.” Harry shakes his head as they make they way inside.

“Jealous?” Louis yells because the music is starting to get too loud, and the lighting too dim.

“Not in the slightest. What if you get too drunk and do something you’ll regret and then tomorrow it will be all over the news?”

“I’m not an A list celebrity. Maybe C. Give it up to a week.”

Harry rolls his eyes, and tries his hardest not to lose Liam in the crowd. They eventually find their booth in a corner, and he ends up sitting between Louis and Niall, across from Jade. How pleasant.

“If you have a reservation you have to order at least a bottle, so what are we ordering?” Barbara yells, opening the menu.

“Vodka and RedBull!” Niall yells, and Louis agrees.

“Rum and coke?” Harry suggests, because it’s milder and he really isn’t planning on getting drunk again so soon.

“Yeah, that works for starters. Then we can have the Vodka bottle.” Barbara nods, closing the menu just as a waitress comes over to their table to ask what they would like to drink.

Once the two bottles arrive in two different buckets filled with ice and can of cokes, they divide the drinks equally and then pass the glasses around the table.

Niall and Louis are the first ones to down their glasses in record time, and Harry hasn’t even had two sips.

“Baby steps?” Louis asks into his ear a few minutes later when Harry’s glass is still three quarters full.

Harry turns his head so he can respond into Louis’ ear as well. It turns out to be a bit harder than he’d initially thought, because Louis smells absolutely amazing. “Again with the age jokes?”

“I swear to God I didn’t even think of that!”

Harry shakes his head and Louis bumps their shoulders playfully against each other to show him that he’s only joking.

Half an hour later, when it’s finally 12am, they loudly (and drunkenly) sing happy birthday to Barbara, and then Harry posts the picture after he kisses her on the cheek.

_**harrystyles:** happy 19th birthday @brbrplvn !!!_

He feels like getting a cocktail, because the rum came and went, and just as he’s about to turn towards the bar, there’s an arm on his shoulder.

Harry turns his head and then lowers it so Louis can say something.

“Do you want to come outside with me for a smoke?”

He finds himself nodding, before he leans towards Louis’ ear. “I want to get another drink first!”

“Alright, I’ll wait on the stairs!”

Harry nods again, and then walks towards the bar. There’s a really good-looking guy bartending tonight (Harry’s never seen him before or he would have remembered him for sure), so he decides to be extra flirty because he can allow himself to do so now.

He smiles at the guy – Lucas, based on his nametag -, and asks for a Mojito.

“A what?” Lucas yells, bringing his cheek closer.

“Mojito!”

Lucas nods and pulls away with a flirty grin (Harry assumes that that’s what it is), when he suddenly feels a hand on his back, dangerously low to his ass. He turns his head to see a guy way past his forties eyeing him up and down, obviously either drunk or high (or both) judging by the look on his face.

Harry politely smiles and steps further away, trying to pay him no attention.

“What’s your name?” the guy asks and Harry turns his head to look towards the stairs to make sure Louis is still there. He tries to find him, but he can’t really see anything because of the bad lighting and the mass of people.

When he turns his head, the Mojito has already been placed in front of him and it’s still sizzling, probably from the ice and the mint.

Harry doesn’t even get to take two sips, because the creepy guy next to him is suddenly falling backwards on the floor with blood oozing from his lip and nose.

When Harry turns his head, he’s shocked to see Louis standing there rubbing his knuckle with an angry expression on his face.

The creepy guy stands up quickly, but Louis is faster as he yells at him the loudest Harry’s ever heard him.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU PUT IN HIS DRINK YOU FUCKING LOSER!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> ! Next update will be on September 6th, 5pm UK time ! (it might be the 6th though because I'm going to the 1D Buffalo concert on the 3rd and classes start that same day sooo)
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	7. The one with the awkward encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter more than the last one ;) the story officially starts!
> 
> Thank you so much to my beta Ju for reading through the chapter for me :)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Harry watches Louis go in for another punch, and then he suddenly feels like throwing up. He turns his head to look if the way to the exit is clear. There is a line of people probably waiting to go out and have a smoke, so he looks back at the current situation.

Louis is currently being held back by a security guard, hauled back by strong tattooed arms as the creepy man clutches his nose. There is blood oozing out between his fingers and he looks like he’s a few seconds away from passing out. Which is exactly how Harry feels right now too, probably because of what that man put in his drink.

He follows the security guard and Louis outside.

“I know you’re a big deal Tomlinson but that doesn’t give you the right to go punching people.” The security guy says when he lets go of Louis’ collar.

“That man spiked my mate’s drink, what was I supposed to do?”

The guard turns to look at Harry, who’s now leaning against the wall of the club, trying to not let the fact that he’s incredibly busy, on the verge of throwing up, show.

“I guess you did the right thing, so I’m going to try and not get you banned from the club. You can’t go back tonight though.”

Louis nods, and then shakes the guard’s hand in form of a thank you.

“You okay?” he asks Harry when the guard goes back inside. “How are you feeling?”

“Really drunk. Dizzy.”

“How much did you drink out of the glass?”

“Two sips.”

Louis curses under his breath and then pulls his phone out.

“I’m going to call Liam and tell him that we’re going back to your house to get you to bed and put something on me knuckles.”

Harry looks down at Louis’ hands, and it’s the first time he sees that they’re actually bleeding and that the skin has rubbed off from the constant punches.

“Does it hurt?”

“A bit, but that’s not the problem right now. Why weren’t you paying attention?”

“I was looking if you were still waiting for me.”

Louis rolls his eyes and takes the phone to his ear. When Liam doesn’t answer, he send him a message before he looks around for a cab.

“Can we just like, walk? Please.”

“You want to walk to your house?” Louis asks. “There’s at least a ten minute walk.”

“Yeah, I need some fresh air right now.”

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Louis holds out his hand for Harry to take, and after he pulls him off the wall, he lets go (to Harry’s disappointment).

They walk a couple of minutes in silence, until they reach a big park they have to cross so they’ll finally get to Harry’s neighborhood.

Louis lights up a cigarette and stops when Harry sits down on a bench and puts his hands in his palms.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. When are these drugs supposed to wear off?”

“I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve used them before.”

Harry shakes his head and looks up, just to see Louis staring down at him as he lets out smoke from his lips.

“Can you like, look it up or something?”

“Yeah hold on.”

Louis takes his phone out and sits down next to him as he googles the date rape drug.

“It says that the drugs usually leave your system in less than twelve hours.”

“Great. Eleven more hours to go.” Harry mumbles, and suddenly surges forward to throw up on the grass by his feet.

He stays like that for a few seconds, and then wipes the corner of his mouth before he sits back.

“Jesus man, that’s gross.”

“I need gum.”

“What for? ‘s not like I’m going to kiss you right now.” Louis says.

Harry turns his head to look at him. “I didn’t say anything about kissing. I want to get the taste out of my mouth. There’s a supermarket a few blocks away from my house, we should go there.”

“Alright, get up then.”

They stand up at the same time before they start walking again, this time slower as Louis starts talking about a charity gala Van Gaal wants the whole team to go to, but he doesn’t know any more details.

They reach the supermarket five minutes later, and Louis buys a pack of gum and two packs of Marlboro. As soon as they’re back outside, Harry takes two pieces of gum and Louis lights another cigarette.

All the lights in the house are out when Harry unlocks the gate, which means that his father is either out somewhere or has already gone to sleep. It’s quiet, so Harry goes outside to check on Ernie and give him food, and then comes back in so he can put ice on Louis’ knuckles.

“The first aid cabinet is in the bathroom downstairs.” He tells Louis, who is apparently feeling like home because he’s watching TV with his feet propped up on the coffee table.

Louis stands up and takes off his jacket, before he follows Harry to the bathroom. He sits up on the counter and crosses his ankles, waiting for Harry to do his job.

Harry takes out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a couple of band-aids, and some cotton pads.

“You’ve done this before?” Louis asks.

“When I was younger I used to babysit and the children would get in all kinds of trouble.”

“Harry Styles, professional manny.”

Harry rolls his eyes and takes Louis’ right hand to put it under water.

“Shit, that stings!” Louis complains.

“It’s just water, relax.”

“It fucking hurts.”

Harry stops the water and then wipes the blood off with a cotton pad, before he applies hydrogen peroxide on all of his knuckles. Louis yells and jolts away, but Harry keeps his hand in a tight grip. Then he presses another cotton pad to the wounds and puts band-aids on them.

He does the same with the other hand, and after he’s done Louis waits for him to brush his teeth. Then they walk upstairs to his bedroom so Harry can lay down.

Harry pulls off his shirt, toes his shoes off, and then gets rid of his shoes. He turns to look at Louis, who is still fully dressed by his closet, looking right at Harry’s chest.

“So what are you going to do? Stay here or go home?”

“Where can I sleep if I stay over?”

“You can sleep in the bed. It’s big enough for two people.” Harry answers, looking at his queen sized bed.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, we’re not going to do anything because I feel too sick to…so.”

Louis nods and takes off his shoes before he disappears into the bathroom.

“Can I use your toothbrush?” he asks from the other room, and Harry mumbles a ‘yes’ as he gets into bed.

When Louis comes out, the only light is coming from the bedside lamp, so he walks over to turn it off before he gets into bed himself.

Harry turns on his left side to face him, and sees that Louis is also half naked as he scrolls through his phone.

“Thank you.” He tells him. Louis looks away from his phone.

“What for?”

“Punching that guy for me. God knows what would’ve happened if you didn’t interfere.”

“You’ve already thanked me. And I’m sure anyone else would have done the same.” There’s a short silence before Louis continues. “Next time, be more careful though. And just to be safe, you should only drink from a bottle.”

“But they only serve beer and sodas in bottles.” Harry says, scrunching his nose.

“Or you could buy spirits in bottles like we did tonight and not order from the bar anymore.”

Harry sighs, pulling the blanket down to his waist because it was too warm in the room. Louis turns his attention back to his phone, and busies himself with it for about ten more minutes until he locks it and puts it on the bedside table.

“What happens if your dad checks your room tomorrow and finds me in your bed? What will he think?” Louis asks, but it’s clear that he’s smiling. Harry can tell by the tone he uses; even through the dark.

“My father never comes on the second floor, unless it’s because he has work in his office, let alone my room.”

Louis hums, turning on his side so they’re facing each other now. Harry’s cheek is against the pillow, while Louis is resting his head on his arm.

“Must be nice.”

“What?”

“Having privacy. When I was younger, I would rarely even get five minutes of privacy to wank, like three times a week. Four if I was lucky.”

Harry snorts as Louis continues. “The girls were always everywhere, and I would’ve killed for a day or two alone.”

“Well… I wouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it gets…lonely.” Harry exhales, and he suddenly realizes that it’s the first time he ever tells anyone how he really feels about his dad and being alone all the time.

“What do you mean? Zayn and your housekeeper are here all the time.”

“Yeah but…I don’t know. I just feel lonely. When I was back in Cheshire, I used to have my sister.”

“What’s her name again?”

“Gemma. She’s in her last year of Uni now.”

Louis smiles. “You should go to sleep.”

Harry nods, suddenly feeling like a loser for sharing this with Louis, probably because the man wouldn’t understand. He turns on his back, and closes his eyes, trying to fall asleep.

“Harry?”

“Hm?”

“Just…if you ever need someone to talk to or keep you company, I’m here.”

“Thanks.”

Although Harry’s response seems casual, inside he’s actually freaking out. Freaking out because of the way Louis’ words just made him feel. Not like he’s falling in love, even though he’s starting to slowly develop a crush; Louis’ words made him feel safe for the first time in years.

And it feels really nice.

-

Harry wakes up with his face smushed into the pillow, and a cold right side of the bed.

“Louis?” he calls out as soon as he stands up and looks around the room. They forgot to shut the blinds last night so the sun is shining brightly into the room, literally melting everything.

Harry gets out of bed and walks over to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change into some clothes. He walks downstairs with two empty glasses to put in the sink.

He stops in his tracks when he reaches the kitchen though, because his father and Louis are at the bar, having coffee and talking about God knows what. To say that he’s shocked is an understatement.

“Um…good morning?” he carefully says as he proceeds towards the sink.

“Good morning Harry.” his father responds, looking at him. Louis doesn’t say anything, but he smiles reassuringly at him.

Harry can’t tell for sure what his dad must be thinking, but he knows he’ll get an earful as soon as Louis leaves.

“Coffee?” Stephanie offers, coming into the kitchen with a tray of unwashed dishes.

“Um, yes thank you.”

Harry sits down on the stool next to Louis, unsure of what to do or say next.

“So what were you to talking about?” he asks, trying to play it innocently like Louis Tomlinson didn’t just spend the night.

“We were talking about the charity gala my law firm is hosting. It’s for kids with cancer, and I bought us a table. I’m going to bring three of my friends with me, and you have room for five more if anyone is up for it.” his father starts. “Louis and two of my clients also bought a table.” He adds.

“I’m probably going to bring Niall and Barb…and then we’ll find three more people.”

Louis checks the watch on his phone, and then places his coffee mug down.

“Unfortunately I have to go now, but it was good meeting you Mr. Styles.” He says, getting down from the barstool and shaking his hand.

Harry’s father nods, and then sees Louis out the door while Harry remains seated, waiting for him to return in severe anxiety.

His father comes back and retakes his place. “So. What was Louis Tomlinson doing at our house at nine in the morning? Did he sleep over?”

“Dad it’s not what it looks like-“

His father lifts a hand. “Listen. I don’t care what you do with him. But I don’t want you to get in too deep, literally.”

“Dad!” Harry exclaims, almost dropping his mug.

“I’m serious. Louis is five years older; he knows what he’s doing. I don’t want him taking advantage of you.”

“Okay, first of all. I’m eighteen, so I’m old enough to make my own decisions. Also, he’s not taking advantage because nothing happened.” _Yet._

“Whatever. I want you to be careful. Also, make sure Louis doesn’t find out about you two.”

“Why not?”

“Just-he doesn’t need to find out okay? Unless it’s something serious, which it won’t be, I hope. He doesn’t want his players to be distracted during the League.”

Harry nods. “Dad, chill.”

“I am chill.” His father says, shaking his cup to see if he has anything left in it. “And also worried. Please don’t disappoint me.” He checks his watch, and then stands up. “I have to go now, I’m meeting with a client at eleven in Stockport. I’ll be back later tonight.”

“Alright. I’m probably going to stay in today.”

“You do that. Don’t forget we have the charity gala.”

“You never told me when it is?”

“It’s tomorrow night, so the players get Tuesday off.”

“Oh. Good.”

“Do you have a tux that fits you or do I have to leave money for you to go buy a new one?”

“I think I have one from my graduation, but I’m not sure it’s right for a fancy gala.”

His dad checks his wallet.

“I’m going to transfer some money to your card so you can go to Arndale and buy a new one okay?”

“Alright.”

“Here’s some money for the taxi.” He says, and hands Harry two tenners.

“Thanks dad.”

His father smiles and then walks upstairs to change.

Harry waits for him to leave before he goes up to his room, changes into some respectable clothes, and then calls a taxi service. He debates whether he should tell Niall and Barbara about what had just happened this morning, but he decides against it, since Barbara will probably be at her job in H&M. He texts her.

**_Harry:_ ** _hey u working today?_

**_Barbara:_ ** _yeah from 11 to 5. Why?_

**_Harry:_ ** _have to buy a tux for tomorrow. Explain when I get there_

**_Barbara:_ ** _okay come onnn I’m boreeed already and I haven’t even started_

He arrives at Burton around twelve, and finished by twelve-thirty, so he sets foot in H&M just minutes later. Barbara is at the register; chewing gum and looking bored since the store is almost empty, due to the sale going on at Topshop across the hall.

She kisses both of his cheeks and invites him to sit down next to her.

“So what did you want to talk about?”

“Well, first of all, you and Niall need to come with me to this charity gala my father’s company is hosting tomorrow.”

“Ooh, fancy. I’ll finally get to use the initial prom dress I bought but didn’t get to wear.” She says, mostly to herself.

“And you know how I know about it?”

She raises her eyebrows questioningly.

“Because my father told me this morning. After he told _Louis._ While they were having _coffee_ in my _kitchen_.”

“Wait what? You had sex with Louis and then he had coffee with your dad?” she asks, laughing.

“Barbara please. I didn’t do anything with him last night. I have some standards.”

She snorts. “Like fuck you do. You have nothing, not even self respect when it comes to Louis.”

“Heyyy.”

“Speaking of last night, what happened exactly? I was too drunk and confused.”

“Well, this guy spiked my drink with the date rape drug, Louis beat the shit out of him, so his security guy led us out of the club and we ended up going back to my place to bandage his knuckles and sleep.”

“And you didn’t do anything.” She states, more like a question.

Harry shakes his head.

“Not even cuddle?”

“Nope.”

“I’m disappointed.”

“Why would _you_ be disappointed?”

“Well Soph and I totally ship you guys.” She says, smiling.

“Ship us where?”

“Like, together you idiot. You’re on fucking Tumblr and you have no idea what shipping means?”

Harry shakes his head. “I only follow photography blogs.”

“Jesus. So what did your father say?”

“He told me not to get into deep with Louis. _Literally_.”

“Oh my _God_.” She cackles. “Niall needs to hear about this.”

“Tell him whatever you want, but make sure he presents himself tomorrow night. I have three more people I can invite, so do you think I should invite-“

“Soph, Liam, and Zayn? Definitely. I’ll text her right now.”

“Great.” Harry says, getting out of his seat. “I better get home so I can still catch Zayn and take a bath.”

“And wank over Louis.” She adds.

“You’re the fucking worst.”

“But you love me.”

-

Zayn is still there when Harry gets home, smoking in the backyard and reading a book. He agrees to coming to the gala tomorrow, so Harry thanks him and goes upstairs to take a long, well deserved bath.

Then he gets into bed to catch up on Parks and Recreation, since he hasn’t gotten around to watch the last episodes due to his hectic school and work schedule.

His father comes home around half past six and they have pizza for dinner in front of the TV, which is weird, because Harry can’t even remember the last time the two of them ate dinner like a family.

Ernie comes in through the back door and settles down at their feet, and they spend the rest of the evening watching two action movies. It’s the first time in weeks, maybe even months, when Harry’s felt like he actually has a father. It’s nice and at the same time weird. But he’s not complaining.

-

“So what will you be wearing tonight?” Louis asks that Monday morning after practice.

And it’s unfair, really, because he has the audacity to make asking such a simple question so hard, since he’s only wearing a towel around his waist.

“Uh…a tuxedo.”

“With a button up underneath?”

“What else?”

“I’m thinking of trying to get away with a t-shirt instead of a button up. I hate them.”

Louis sits down at his bench and takes out his change clothes.

“Why? Because they’re always too big or too long at the sleeves?”

“Haha.”

“You’re coming tonight?” Ander asks and comes out of the blue with a smile on his face.

“It’s my fathers law firm, so yes.”

“Oh, good.”

“Why is that?” Harry asks, focusing his attention on him instead of Louis.

“Just saying.” He shrugs. “See you there.”

Harry nods and Ander greets everyone before he leaves.

“What was that about?” Louis asks.

“I don’t know?”

“He was flirting.” He teases Harry as he stands up and drops his towel. Harry averts his eyes.

“I don’t think he was.”

“Yes, he was.” Louis dumbly continues like a five year old. He dresses up quickly, but Harry still fights by saying there is no way that Ander Herrera was actually flirting with him all the way to Louis’ car.

Louis opens the driver’s door. “Honestly Harry. You’re so oblivious sometimes.”

“What do you mean?”

Louis doesn’t answer as he gets into the car and waits for Harry to do the same.

His father calls him at three in the afternoon, letting him know that he’s sending a car to pick him up at seven o’clock sharp, so he should probably tell his friend to be there too.

Harry sends Barbara and Niall a text, telling them to be at his house around five if they want to get ready here, or at half past six if they want to do it at home. He then starts another conversation on WhatsApp.

**_Harry:_ ** _hey can you please give me zayn’s number?_

**_Louis:_ ** _what for?_

**_Harry:_ ** _I need to tell him to come over so we can all go together at the charity gala tonight_

**_Louis: (_ ** _0161) 497 0682_

**_Harry:_ ** _thanks_

**_Louis: (_** _seen_ ✓)

Harry frowns, sort of wishing that Louis has responded, but he doesn’t really have time to let himself be bothered about it. He has to take a shower, feed Ernie, dismiss Stephanie for the day, and then start getting ready because Niall and Barbara are coming over at five, and Liam and Sophia at six together with Zayn, who just replied.

He’s in his room putting on a new pair of briefs when the doorbell rings, and he doesn’t bother dressing up before walking downstairs to let his friends in.

Niall and Barbara are both casually dressed, but each of them carrying backpacks since they’re going to sleep over tonight.

“I don’t even know where to start!” Barbara says as soon as she sets her backpack down on Harry’s bed. “My hair? My makeup? Ahh.”

“Hair first.” Harry tells her and goes back to his closet to put his tuxedo on. “My dad’s sending us a car at seven.”

“If it’s a limo I’ll faint.”

Niall snorts at his girlfriend’s words before he proceeds to undress himself.

“This feels like prom all over again. Us three getting ready, me being the third wheel…” Harry trails off.

“You’re not the third wheel.”

“Niall please, I was the third wheel even when you two weren’t together.”

“That’s not…fine. I don’t want you to feel like you’re extra.”

“Niall, relax. I don’t feel like I’m extra. I’m used to it.” Harry laughs and pulls his dress pants on. They fit perfectly, even though they haven’t been tailored. His dad will love it. Well, he has to love it since it’s a two grand tuxedo from Burton. He was thinking about buying one from Yves Saint Laurent or Burberry-the stores his father usually buys his clothes from-but he was too lazy to go at another mall.

At six thirty Niall and Harry are ready, and Barbara is just finishing up her makeup when the doorbell rings once again. It’s Zayn, Sophia, and Liam, all dressed and ready to go.

They gather in the kitchen for pre drinks while Barbara is still getting ready, talking about the game from last night and how the League starts in less than a month.

Barbara eventually emerges from upstairs in her red gown looking incredibly beautiful, just like Sophia, and a car honks from outside.

“Our ride is here.” Harry announces and takes all the empty cocktail glasses to the sink.

The ride is indeed a limousine, and Niall is the first one to literally throw himself in it.

“It’s the same car that took us to prom.” Harry tells Barbara once they’re seated inside. “It’s me dad’s driver.”

“How lucky are you to have a driver.” She sighs, smoothing down her dress.

“Yeah how lucky are you to get a car when you go to Uni.”

“Do you honestly think your dad isn’t going to get you that car?” Niall intervenes. “I think he will.”

Harry shakes his head. “No. He’s always true to his word. If he says no it’s no.”

Niall disagrees, just as Liam takes out six glasses of champagne and a bottle of Louis Roederer.

“I don’t want to drink before we get there anymore.” Harry says when he’s offered a glass.

“You don’t want to drink Louis? Ha.” Niall snorts, and the rest of them laugh.

“Hey. I don’t appreciate these Louis jokes.”

“They’re not jokes, they’re the truth.” Barbara adds and high fives Niall.

Harry ends up taking a glass of champagne anyway, and downs it quite quickly when he thinks about what his father told him yesterday about Louis.

The gala is held in a building that looks like it’s made out of marvel. Everything is planned out well, with a red carpet leading from the sidewalk where the cars stop all the way inside. There are some hired photographers on each side, since this charity gala is an annual thing-each year raising money for a different cause-and the wealthiest people in Manchester are usually said to attend. (Harry was bored last night so he searched on the Internet for it since his father told him to.)

The limousine stops at the beginning of the red carpet, and a guy in a black suit opens the door for them. Barbra and Niall get out first, followed by Sophia and Liam, and then Harry with Zayn.

“So I guess we’ll be photographed together.” Harry whispers to Zayn as they walk down the carpet with smiles on their faces.

“It’s not an awards show with paparazzi.” Zayn laughs. “So just smile and look pretty yeah?”

They turn towards one of the cameramen and pose for a few pictures before they finally head inside. There’s a queue at the door with a lady holding a list, checking off names as people walk inside.

“Name?” she asks when they finally get their turn.

“We’re there under Styles?”

“I’ve got six seats left.”

“Yeah, that’s us.”

“Alright, have a great time.” She smiles, ticks off the name, and then opens the door.

There’s a long hallway with only one door at the end of it except of the bathrooms, so it’s not that hard to find the hall. It’s incredibly luxurious, with marble walls and marble stairs that lead up to a balcony. There’s another flight of stairs that leads to another smaller balcony where the band that’s playing is located. There’s a bar in the right corner and a stage right at the back of the room so everyone can see it when they eventually start auctioning things (that’s apparently a thing, and Harry wonders why the event wasn’t called a charity auction instead of a gala).

They read the table arrangements right at the entrance.

“Styles, table one.” Liam says and points at the words.

“Van Gaal has three tables.” Niall gapes.

“Well, he’s also got a giant football team so.”

They find their table right by the stage, and Harry’s a bit (more like extremely) surprised when he sees his father whispering into another woman’s ear. There’s another couple with them who Harry recognizes since they’ve been over a couple of times. The man-Bruce-is his father’s (closest thing to a) best friend.

His dad pulls away from the woman when he spots Harry and his friends, and smiles as he stands up. Introductions follow, and Harry learns that the woman’s name is Kathy, and she’s an accountant at the firm Bruce works.

Harry doesn’t like her one bit; with all that makeup on, the perfect white teeth, the tight dress she’s wearing, and the way she laughs at his father’s words. She looks great though, and Harry might be a bit unreasonable because Kathy is nothing like his mother, so that’s why he probably hates her.

He decides the best way to get his mind off things is to go and get himself another glass of champagne, or anything else that contains even the least bit of alcohol.

“You okay?” Niall asks him as they’re making their way towards the bar.

“Yeah, why?”

“You seem pretty eager to get some alcohol in you. Why’s that?”

“Is this question coming from Niall James Horan?” Harry shakes his head and places his elbow on the bar. “I’d like a Vodka tonic please.”

“Jesus, if you order Vodka then shit’s getting serious.”

Harry takes his drink and waits for Niall to do the same, before he retreat in a corner.

“Is this about the woman your dad is with?”

“Maybe. I just feel uncomfortable. Like, I’m not used to seeing him with anyone but my mom.”

Niall nods and sips on his Tequila Sunrise. “Don’t look, but Louis is coming over with Herrera.”

Harry turns his head, unlike Niall just told him to. Louis and Ander are indeed walking towards them with drinks in hand.

“Harold, how weird to see you in a tux.” Louis says and stops in front of them.

Harry’s eyes give him a onceover. He’s wearing a really fancy looking tuxedo, a graphic shirt underneath, black _jeans_ , and black Vans. Who wears Vans and jeans to a gala? Louis Tomlinson, apparently.

“’s the dress code.” Harry tells him, downing the rest of his drink. Louis frowns at that, but doesn’t say anything because Ander starts up a conversation with Harry.

Harry doesn’t even realize it when Louis leaves, because he’s too occupied laughing at one of Ander’s jokes. He tries to look for him, but doesn’t even get the time since someone steps up on stage and talks into the mic, asking people to sit down so the auction can begin.

Everyone sits down, and the man on stage starts talking about sponsors and the people who made this possible, so Harry busies himself with downing two other glasses of champagne.

He keeps glancing towards his father and Kathy, who seem to be whispering to each other more often than not, and getting pretty cozy, which makes Harry want to throw up. To be fair, he thinks if he has

“The next item is sold by John Abbey. It’s a weekend at his beach house in Barcelona, all expenses paid. Bidding starts at five hundred pounds.”

Harry’s father lifts his arm. “Five hundred.”

“Seven hundred.” Someone else says.

“A thousand.”

“A thousand and one.”

“Two thousand.”

“Three thousand.”

“Five thousand.” Harry’s dad says.

Harry sits back in his chair. Why the fuck would his father need a villa for two nights in Barcelona? Harry’s question is answered when he puts his arm around Kathy’s back and kisses her on the lips.

And that’s enough for Harry. Not only did his father fail to mention anything to him about a girlfriend, but he also has the audacity to kiss her in front of him.

He stands up from the table, his chair making a lot of noise so everyone’s looking at him, but he storms out of the hall without another word. By the time he’s outside he’s already ordered a cab and waiting for it at the curb.

“Harry?”

He turns his head, looking at Louis jogging towards him.

“You ok?”

“No. I’m _really_ really drunk and not in the mood right now.”

“The mood for what?”

“Home. My father. Anyone. I just feel like-I need to sleep.”

“Do you want to come over at my place? So you won’t have to face your father tonight.”

Harry gulps. “Sure.”

They take the ordered cab and give Louis’ address, before Harry turns off his phone to silence the incoming calls from his friends and his father.

“Zayn asked me if you’re okay and I said that you’re coming over.”

Harry shrugs, looking out the window. It’s so weird, seeing his father with someone else, he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to it.

Louis pays the driver since Harry doesn’t have any money on him, and they enter the house in silence.

“Do you want like, something to eat?”

“No, I just want to lay down and sleep. I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

“The guest room is upstairs.”

Harry nods and walks up the stairs while Louis stays behind to lock the door and make sure everything is in his place. When he enters his own room, he stops.

“I said the guest room, not my bed.” He chuckles when he sees Harry sprawled out on the bed on his back.

“’m too lazy to take off me clothes.”

“You want me to help?”

Harry nods.

Louis sighs and walks over to the bed, starting on his shoes. He then pulls off Harry’s pants, takes off his tuxedo, and then his button up.

Harry crawls under the covers and pouts, staring at the wall.

“Alright, what’s wrong? Why did you storm out of the room?”

“Why did you follow me?” Harry retorts.

“That wasn’t the question.”

Louis takes off his tuxedo and takes it over to his closet, where he leaves his shoes and pants.

“So?” he pushes, kneeling on the bed next to Harry, who turns on his stomach to look up at him.

“It’s weird. Seeing my dad with someone else.”

“Was he happy?”

“That doesn’t matter, it’s unfair.”

Louis sighs, eventually sitting down, his knees touching Harry’s left side. “It does matter though. Do you think _I_ was okay with my mother’s boyfriends when I was younger? I wasn’t. But it made her happy, and that made things a bit better.”

“Yeah but…I don’t know. He could’ve at least told me. Not just show up with her and buy a five grand vacation for the two of them.”

“You’re right. But give him a chance to explain, okay?”

Harry shakes his head and turns his back to Louis. “You don’t understand. Good night.”

Louis knows that Harry’s drunk, and that’s why he’s also a bit unapproachable right now, so he just turns off the light and gets under the cover.

He stares at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, wondering how in the world did he end up following Harry outside and why does he feel the need to protect him and make sure that he’s right all the time.

Louis eventually decides to turn towards Harry, and dares to put his arm around his waist, burying his nose into his hair. Harry seems to be asleep, since he doesn’t even move and his breathing is even.

“I’m _trying_ to understand, but you make it _so_ hard.”

And the worst thing is, he’s not sure what he’s even referring to; Harry’s problem with his dad, or the way Harry makes him feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> ! Next update will be on September 20th, 5pm UK time ! 
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	8. The one with the team building

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so sorry for delaying the update for a week, but everything is too hectic with Uni right now. But this chapter is almost 6k long, so I hope you can forgive me.
> 
> Thank you so much to my beta Ju for reading through the chapter for me :)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

The first thing Harry feels when he wakes up is something pressing against his lower back. At first he thinks one of his pillows might have moved while he tossed in his sleep, but then he realizes that someone’s arm is around his waist. And _then_ he realizes that Louis Tomlinson is actually _spooning_ him, and the _thing_ pressing into his back is actually Louis’ morning wood.

Harry’s heart leaps into his chest and his stomach flips as last nights’ events come flooding back to him. He tries wiggling away from Louis’ grip without waking him up.

Once he’s finally free and out of bed, Louis whines and turns on his stomach, not waking up. Harry’s not sure what he’s supposed to do next now that he’s out of bed, because this isn’t his house and last night’s clothes are sprawled across the room.

_Oh my God_

_Did we do something?_

_No. I remember everything._

He stares at the curve of Louis’ ass for a moment, before he feels like he’s a creep so he averts his eyes. God knows how long it takes for Louis to wake up in the morning. Do they have practice today? No, he remembers something Van Gaal said about not having practice today, so he calms down.

Harry walks over to the bathroom and brushes his teeth with a new toothbrush he finds in the cabinet under the sink, and then combs his hair.

Louis is softly snoring, so Harry sits down at the edge of the bed and checks his social media. Niall and Barbara are sending pictures from last night after Harry left and he actually bothers responding to his father’s texts with a simple _‘at louis’ house, going to be home later’._

Louis stirs in his sleep and mumbles something, before he turns on his back and opens his eyes. Harry watches him as he rubs them, and then sits up in bed looking disoriented.

“What time ‘s it?” he asks, running a hand through his hair.

“Uh…” Harry checks the time on his phone. “Twelve forty-two.”

How on earth did he sleep in this much? Maybe he was just too comfortable in Louis’ arms. Maybe.

“Jesus, I’m starving.”

“Well you don’t have anything in your fridge besides cereal and that weird diet food you have to eat.”

“Fuck the fridge, let’s go out for lunch.”

Harry doesn’t want to ask if it’s like sort of a date, because it’s not. Louis just wants to go out to eat and since Harry’s here it would only be polite to invite him along.

“Sure.”

Louis gets up from the bed, and it doesn’t look like he really minds Harry seeing him with a hard-on as he makes his way to the bathroom.

When he comes out, Harry is already dressed in last night’s clothes.

“You’re not wearing a tuxedo out to lunch.” Louis says, shaking his head and motions for Harry to follow him into the closet.

“I think we’ve established by now that your clothes don’t really fit me.”

“Shut your mug and try these on. They’re Liam’s but he forgot them here.” Louis tells him and pushes a pair of ripped skinny jeans into Harry’s arms. Then he places a black shirt on top.

“I’m not sure I can give you shoes though, I’m a size eight and a half.”

“I’m a size ten. You’ve got baby feet.”

“Shut up.”

Harry puts on the clothes Louis just handed him, and then his own shoes.

“I look like an idiot with these jeans and dress shoes on.”

“Shut up, no one is going to look at you.”

“Where are we going?” Harry finally asks once they’re out the door and Louis passes the garage.

“There’s a restaurant a couple of blocks away that’s really good.”

“I don’t have any money on me.”

Louis shakes his head. “It’s fine, I got it.”

“Louis-“

“Ugh, please don’t make this one of those situations where I have to insist to pay and you denying even though we both know I’ll end up paying okay?”

Harry nods, shutting up.

The restaurant is more of a terrace in the middle of a crowded street that’s occupied by shops, other restaurants, and even a small cinema. There are people everywhere, and Harry is sure that some of them recognize Louis when they sit down at a table outside.

By the time the waiter brings their menus, a couple of girls sitting nearby try sneaking photos of Louis while taking a ‘selfie’. Harry stares at the camera before averting his eyes.

“Those girls are taking pictures of you.” Harry says.

Louis doesn’t look up from his menu. “I know.”

“You can’t even see them.”

“I heard them giggle.”

Harry snorts. Louis really is something else.

“What if they’ll think I’m your boyfriend?”

Louis shrugs. “They can think whatever they want to think. Who cares?”

Harry turns his head, not responding.

Louis orders a Caesar salad with fries on the side and a glass of lemonade, while Harry orders a hamburger with veggies and lemonade.

“Don’t you want desert?” Louis asks when the plates are placed in front of them.

“If I’m not full, then yes. But I don’t want to take advantage of you money.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Why is everything about money? Can’t you have a good time without thinking about who owes who and how to get even?”

“Sorry, it’s just that I feel bad when people pay for me.”

Louis raises an eyebrow. “So you’ve never been asked out on a date?”

“I have been, but I always paid for myself.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like the idea of someone paying for me. I don’t know why.” Harry shrugs.

“You’re weird. When I was younger, I would have taken any opportunity to save up money.”

“Well then, we’re not really alike now are we?”

“I guess not.” Louis concludes and opens his mouth to take a bite out of the chicken.

They eat the rest of their lunch in silence, and Harry ends up ordering a milkshake and some ice cream after.

“Now that’s what I like to see.” Louis says, smiling, when Harry finishes his ice cream and leans back into his chair, patting his stomach.

“My beautiful face?” Harry asks, teasing.

“Your satisfied smile. Hey, I forgot to ask. So I was bored yesterday and logged on Tumblr, and like, I could see the posts but didn’t know how to ‘reblog’ them?”

Harry sighs, waiting for Louis to place his phone on the table.

“So here is how you reblog stuff, this is how you like posts, and this is how you mention someone if you want that person to see the post.”

“Oh, so like, if I want you to see a post I just @ you?”

“Yes. And I’ll check it out.”

“Good. How do I get followers?”

“By posting stuff and following people who follow back.”

Louis smirks and exits the Tumblr App to click on Twitter. “Or I can tweet about my Tumblr.”

Harry watches him tweet _‘heyyy I made a tumblr !! lwtomlinson.tumblr.com’_

“Now we wait.”

“You know you’re going to have to be careful about what you like and reblog from now on right?” Harry asks.

“Why? Is there anything I shouldn’t be posting?”

“No, I’m just saying. Maybe you’re going to like…” _out yourself_ “post something that might put your career in jeopardy. I don’t know, I’m just saying but I don’t know how this whole business works.”

“You think they might kick me off the team if I tell them I’m gay?”

“Are you coming out to me right now?” Harry asks, not sure of what he’s supposed to say. His choice of words isn’t that great though, and now he feels like an idiot.

“No, I’m just wondering. I’ve never really heard Van Gaal express his opinion about homosexuality.”

“Well, if you’re straight, then what’s it to you?”

“I just…don’t like close-minded people, that’s all.”

Harry stares down at his hands, and then something catches his eye. There are two men with cameras a bit further down the street, pointing them right at Louis.

“Paparazzi are here.”

“I know, I saw them.”

“And doesn’t that bother you?”

Louis shakes his head, and then turns it to look at the men. “I’m used to it. But it’s not like I’m a big celebrity, I don’t get followed everywhere. Unless someone tips them off or if one of our publicists calls them, I don’t have a problem.”

“Aren’t they like, rude to you?”

“No. But most of them are really focused on who I’m dating. Don’t know why though. That’s nobody’s business but my own and the person I’m with.”

Harry bites his lip, but doesn’t say anything else because he has no idea what to say. Louis asks their waiter for the check and pays with his card, before they’re on their way back to his house.

“So do you want to stay or are you going home?”

Harry checks the time on his phone. “I think I’m going to go home and endure an hour long speech about how what I did was wrong and that my dad is allowed to date whoever he wants to.”

Louis pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “You can leave your suit here and I’ll bring it over tomorrow at practice after I get it dry cleaned together with mine.”

“Thanks.”

“I really need a personal assistant to help me out with my chores because I simply forget to do them.” He sighs, opening the door for Harry and offering to drive him home. Harry tells him he’ll get a cab.

“Good luck on finding an assistant.” Harry says.

“Good luck on surviving that speech.”

-

When Harry gets home, his father is in the living room watching Law and Order, but he mutes it as soon as Harry steps into the living room. Ernie is on the armchair next to the couch, and he lifts his head to look at Harry with sleepy eyes.

“We need to talk.” Is the only thing his dad says. No ‘hello’, no ‘how are you’, nothing.

“About what?” Harry asks innocently, sitting down on the armrest of the couch.

“You know what. About what happened yesterday at the gala. What was that?”

Harry sighs. “It’s weird seeing you with someone else, especially when I didn’t know it was going on. How long has this been going on?”

“I’ve been seeing her for six months now.”

“Six months?” Harry exclaims. “That’s half a year! For half a year you’ve been lying to me!”

“Don’t get worked up now-“

“Are you planning on proposing?”

His father raises his hands in defense. “I didn’t say that.”

“If you love her so much, why didn’t you tell me? That’s what bothers me the most about the situation. That you didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how you were going to react.”

“So you thought it would be better to just hide it from me? You thought I was never going to find out?”

“No, that wasn’t-“

Harry stops him by putting a hand up. “You know, you always tell me we can be open and honest with each other, but you never are. You’re never home, never _here_. And then you expect me to pretend that nothing’s wrong and just take all the shit you throw my way? I’m so done with this, honestly.”

He doesn’t wait for his father to say anything else before he takes up the stairs and makes sure to slam the door really hard behind him.

After he takes a shower and changes into some more comfortable clothes, he sits down on his bed and pulls his laptop over his lap.

He checks Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and then finally Tumblr. He has a notification from _lwtomlinson_ , who reblogged his most recent photo of a Christopher Pointdexter quote.

Harry clicks on his blog but there’s nothing to see really, besides a selfie with over five thousand notes already, and the post he’s reblogged from Harry. To his surprise, his follower count just doubled, and he knew it would happen since his blog was the first one Louis Tomlinson actually reblogged.

He scrolls through his dashboard and then suddenly stops at a set of pictures posted by _fuckyeahtomlinson._ There is a set of four pictures, all of them taken seconds apart of Harry and Louis out for lunch. They’re talking to each other in the first three, and then Harry is staring right at the camera in the fourth one.

He likes the post and scrolls further down, until he finds another set of pictures he wasn’t even aware were being taken at the time, of Louis and him walking away from the restaurant, laughing about God knows what it even was.

He looks to the comments made on the post with Xkit, and a whole lot of people are already speculating whether this is Louis’ new boyfriend, wondering who Harry is and how old he is, because he apparently doesn’t look older than 18.

Harry closes the Tumblr tag and stares at the wall for a few seconds, until he takes out his phone to save two of the pictures and send them to Louis on WhatsApp.

Harry: **look at this**

Harry: [ **image]**

Harry: **[image]**

The messages aren’t even delivered, so Harry busies himself with taking all the dirty clothes that have been piling in his room for the past week to the laundry basked in his bathroom. He cleans his room to get his mind off of everything, but as soon as his phone rings to signal a new WhatsApp notification, he lunges for the bed.

He’s disappointed when he sees that the activity is on their group, and not on his private chat with Louis, who by the way, received the messages but hasn’t read them yet.

Barbara: **did u see this???**

Barbara: **[image]**

The image is one of the two Harry just sent to Louis, and he bites his lip as he thinks of a reply.

Harry: **yeah they’re on tumblr**

Barbara: **I saw???? People think you’re together now and want to know who u are**

Harry: **?**

Barbara: **do u want them to find out?**

Harry: **not really**

Harry: **my dad said it’s better if van gaal doesn’t find out about this**

Harry: **this***

Barbara: **then be careful next time**

Harry: **they were there already, we didn’t have a choice**

Niall: **what if we see the photo in a magazine?**

Niall: **will u sign it for me?**

Niall: **:D**

Harry is about to reply with ‘_|_’ when he sees **Chats (1)** on the top left of his screen, so he leaves the conversation.

Louis: **?**

Harry: **these pictures are all over tumblr**

Louis: **I know**

Louis: **I saw**

Louis: **my publicist just called me and asked me about you**

Harry: **and?**

Louis: **I told her there’s nothing to worry about you’re just a friend**

Harry: **ok**

Louis: **is that wrong or?**

Harry: **no, it’s good**

Louis sees the message but doesn’t reply, so Harry gives up on having a conversation with him, when it’s obvious that Louis isn’t in the mood to have a chat.

-

The next day is a Wednesday, and Harry almost doesn’t go to practice because he’s just not in the mood. The atmosphere at home has been really tense, so tense his father and him don’t even talk anymore.

He does show up ten minutes late though, when the team is already on the field doing warm-ups. He pushes the cart over to the benches and sits down, already done for the day.

Louis comes over at some point and asks Harry something, but he’s too out of it and gives a halfhearted reply, to which the footballer frowns. When Louis leaves, Harry wishes he hadn’t acted so cold because it wasn’t his fault.

“You okay?” Ander asks at the end of practice when they’re on their way to the locker rooms.

“Yeah, why?”

“You just seem out of it today.”

Harry shrugs. “Problems at home. Nothing important.”

“It must be important if you’re so distant, unlike usual.”

Ander’s insistence is starting to annoy Harry, even though he only means well. Usually, he likes when Ander hits on him or tries to strike a conversation, but he’s just not feeling it today. All he wants to do is go outside have a cigarette or ten, and relax. Maybe forget. Get a new father.

As soon as the thought crosses his mind, he feels guilty.

“I’m leaving.” He suddenly says and reaches for the cart. Just then, Van Gaal enters the locker room and asks everyone to pay attention.

“I’d like to see you all in my office after you change in ten minutes. Don’t be late.” He says, and looks at Harry.

_Shit. He found out about the lunch…outing. Date? Fuck._

Harry puts the dirty towels and empty bottles where they’re supposed to go, and then heads over to Van Gaal’s office alone. He’s the first one there, so he waits seven minutes on the clock until the players come in one by one.

Van Gaal comes in last and closes the door, before he takes a seat next to Giggs at the end of the table, just like usual.

“I called this meeting to talk about the upcoming team bonding weekend.”

Harry raises a hand.

“Leave the questions at the end.”

Harry puts his hand down, feeling like a fifth grader who just got ignored by the teacher.

“We’re planning on going away this weekend for a one-night camping trip in the nearby woods. No cellphones, no Wi-Fi, nothing.”

Harry is confused. Why is he at this meeting? He’s not part of the team. And what about that one-week cantonment everyone has been talking about? Is this it?

“We’re leaving on Friday afternoon so we can be back Saturday night. Now, questions?”

Three hands, including Harry’s come up.

“Yes, David?”

“Will we sleep in tents?”

Van Gaal rolls his eyes. “That’s what camping implies. Louis?”

“Is there going to be a lot of hiking? Or just like, relaxing and stuff?”

“There will be hiking and other physical activities to keep you in shape Tomlinson.” Giggs answers this time. Louis pouts, but doesn’t say anything else.

Harry catches him staring but speaks to Van Gaal instead of making eye contact. “Am I supposed to come too?”

“If you want, of course. You get along with everyone on the team, so I don’t think anyone would have anything against it. Do you, guys?”

Everyone shakes their head and some of them say that it’s a great idea, that they wouldn’t have anything against it. Harry almost wishes they would have something against it, since he’s really not in the mood to go away for two days, but if he thinks about it, a one-night getaway just to think would be for the best right now.

Away from his father, from social media, just on his own. And twenty other people. Whatever.

When they’re dismissed, Harry follows everyone out of the room and stays behind as soon as they exit the building so he can lean against the wall in peace and light up a cigarette.

He’s not even halfway through it when Louis walks up to him with raised eyebrows. “You okay?”

Harry blows out the smoke through his nose and shrugs. “I don’t know. Sorry for being rude to you earlier, I just got a lot on my mind right now.”

“It’s fine, I didn’t take it personally. So what’s up?” Louis asks as he takes out his own cigarette pack and lights a fag.

“I got into a fight with my dad about the whole Kathy thing, and I ended up telling him how I really feel about everything and things have been weird since yesterday.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’m glad I got to finally tell him some of the things that I’ve held back for years now.”

“For years?”

“Yeah, like about my mother and how he’s never around. It’s not that important.” Harry says, trying to wave it off.

“Yes it is.” Louis frowns. “You know you can tell me. Right?”

“Well, I don’t want to complain too much like-“ Harry stops for a second. “Like a baby. You know, whining.”

“It’s normal to vent Harry. I’ve been living with teenage girls my whole life, I’ve gotten used to listen. Or at least pretend.”

Harry’s heart falls. “I don’t need someone to pretend to listen. I need someone to listen.”

“That’s not what I meant. I meant like, I’m used to listening to people.”

“Well, that was about it. I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted earlier.”

Louis lets the smoke out right in his face and smiles. “Don’t worry about it. You’re done with your cigarette? Let’s go.”

-

Ever since Harry told Niall and Barbara that he’ll be accompanying the team on an overnight camping trip, all they’ve been talking about is how Harry will fuck Louis, or vice versa.

Then everything evolved into a ‘who would top’ hot discussion, where Niall claimed that Harry would definitely top Louis since the footie player is shorter and has a really fit arse, while Barbara said that Louis is definitely the ‘small but really domineering type’ (Harry agrees with her whole heartedly, but he would mind doing it Niall’s way either).

Barbara: **I’d tell you to call or text us if anything interesting happens**

Barbara: **but I remembered you can’t bring your phone with you**

Harry: **I can, but they’ll take it away as soon as we get there**

Niall: **good luck mate**

Harry: **(prayer emoji)**

He shuts his phone off and looks out the window of the bus that’s taking them to the outskirts of Manchester where they’ll hike up the mountain and eventually find a glade to camp in.

Louis is sitting across from him with David, while Harry sits with Ander, who just sat down next to him before Louis even got on the bus. Not that Louis would’ve wanted to sit next to Harry or anything; that’s highly unlikely.

Harry’s watching Ander’s profile while he talks to Young, who’s sitting right behind them next to Carrick. Now that he thinks about it, Ander is actually really fit and obviously interested. And since Louis hasn’t made any other attempt at _anything,_ Harry might as well just have fun. Well, not right now; if and when the opportunity arises.

The bus eventually stops at the beginning of a hiking trail, not even an hour after they left the training complex. Their destination is an hour and a half away, so it shouldn’t be that hard to get up there. Louis is already complaining, but no one pays him any attention.

Van Gaal collects their phones and places them in a backpack that’s left back on the bus, and then waves the driver off. Then he and Giggs, with backpacks on their shoulders, start walking and everyone follows.

“Do you think there are bears in these woods?” Harry asks Ander. This question might go down in Harry’s own autobiography called ‘I am a fucking idiot and these are actual words I’ve said out loud’ as the worst pick up line yet.

He’s just trying to make conversation, but he should know better by now that he wasn’t meant for something along those lines.

“Probably, but everyone’s talking too loud and it will scare them away.” Ander replies, seeming happy to leave the conversation he was just having with Louis so he can reply to Harry.

“I bet you could outrun them.” Is the next stupidity that comes out of Harry’s mouth and oh _God,_ someone stop him for fuck’s sake.

Louis snorts and shakes his head, before he looks up as if he wasn’t even paying attention. Harry frowns at him confusedly, but lets it go and decides to start up another conversation with Ander about how he became a footballer and got recruited for Man United.

By the time they reach the glade, it’s way past five pm and everyone is sweating. They have yet to set up six tents and make a campfire, and also shower in the river a few hundred meters down; all before the sun goes down.

They pair of in groups of four to set up the tent they’ll eventually sleep in, and Harry doesn’t even realize what’s going on until Ander and David start putting up a tent while Louis watches them and tries to give instructions that can’t be safe for anyone.

Their tent is the last one to go up since Louis didn’t really help with anything, as much as he tried to. They place their backpacks inside before everyone heads over to the river to take a quick bath and change into some new clothes.

Harry tries not to stare at anyone, because he’s not sure how the players would react if they caught him ogling them. He’s never heard them say anything homophobic or speak about the topic, but you never know.

Back to their small camp, some of the guys busy themselves with going out to find wood for the fire, others set up fold out chairs they carried all the way up here around the pit, and others (meaning Louis and Harry), are standing by their tent arguing about who should go inside first, since as soon as he unzipped the tent, Harry saw a giant wasp and decided he was fine sleeping outside tonight.

David comes a few minutes later and chases the wasp out of their tent, so Harry retrieves his hoodie (it’s getting pretty chilly outside) and walks past Louis towards the bonfire.

Everyone takes out the food they brought with them, and thank God for De Gea, because he’s brought a giant bag of marshmallows with him.

Harry takes the last remaining seat between Louis and Ander, reaching out to take a skinny stick on which he can stabilize his marshmallow.

They spend the next hour or so talking about game strategies and that the most important thing isn’t winning; it’s learning how to play better as a team and blah blah blah.

Harry doesn’t say anything; he’s just content listening to Louis talking about how back in Paris they didn’t do this and that everyone had one single goal in mind, and that goal was to be the best player of the team.

His watch shows 10:30pm when Van Gaal says they should all be headed to sleep so they can wake up early the next day for an early morning job through the woods.

Harry takes it upon himself to clean up the cups and whatever is left from everyone so he can put them in the large black trash bag.

By the time he’s finished, everyone has already brushed their teeth and gone inside their tents. Harry simply takes out a pack of gum he found in the pockets of his hoodie and puts a tablet in his mouth, before he makes his way towards his tent.

David and Ander are arguing about something Harry doesn’t bother to pay attention to, so he unzips his sleeping bag and slides inside. He’s incredibly aware of the fact that he’s sleeping between Ander and Louis. How is it possible to be caught between them all the time? Or at least that’s what’s happened in the past twelve hours for at least three times.

Louis isn’t saying anything, but Harry can see that he’s staring at the ceiling, listening in to the conversation. It eventually dies down, and Harry falls asleep to David’s light snoring.

Someone shaking him wakes him up from a dream he has about meeting David Beckham and his entire family.

“Mm what?” he mumbles, suddenly aware of the fact that he has chewing gum in his mouth that still, surprisingly, has some flavor left.

“Shh, you’ll wake them up.” Louis says.

He’s straddling Harry, pressing his forefinger to his lips.

“What happened?” Harry whispers, trying to match Louis’ volume.

“I need to pee but it’s too dark outside.”

“So?”

“So? I need a smoke and a wee and I don’t want to go alone. Come on.”

“I was sleeping.” Harry says, but moves as soon as Louis gets out of his lap.

They exit the foyer in silence and walk farther away from the camp until they can’t see the dying fire anymore.

“Hold this.” Louis tells him and hands him a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, before he just turns around to pee.

Harry waits for him to be done so he can pull a cigarette out and hand one to Louis. They light them up at the same time, and then lean against the nearest tree.

“So was it really necessary to wake me up?” Harry asks. He likes to give Louis the impression that he doesn’t like this at all or that he doesn’t feel a rush of adrenaline when he thinks of all the possibilities of what could happen between the two of them right here right now in the dark where no one can see them.

They chain smoke three cigarettes until Louis finally speaks up. “So what’s the deal with you and Herrera?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you two have been disgustingly flirting today and I was just wondering when you were going to fuck, you know?”

Harry is speechless. It may be just his imagination, but Louis does sound a bit jealous.

“Why are you so interested in this? What’s it to you?”

Harry may have just sounded more defensive than needed.

Louis shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess I liked when you were only trying to flirt with me.”

“When did I ever flirt with you?” Harry asks, but feels like a deer in the headlights.

“Tried. _Tried_ to flirt with me.”

“Fuck off.”

“Aw come on now, don’t pout.” Louis says, the last word spoken slower than usual.

“I’m not pouting.”

“Yes you are.”

“No I’m not.”

They’re behaving like children.

“Yes, you are.”

Harry purses his lips in anger. “I am _not_.”

Louis stares at him, and Harry expects him to say ‘yes you are’ once again. What he doesn’t expect though, is for Louis to wrap an arm around his neck and pull him to his lips.

Harry’s tongue meets Louis’ before anything else, and his hands find themselves on Louis’ waist, pulling their chests together.

The kiss is heated and rushed, like someone might pull them away at any moment, so Harry slows it down and Louis follows suit.

Harry wraps his arms around Louis’ waist completely and lifts him up so he can press him against the tree. He has no idea what’s gotten into him; all he knows is that he wants _more_.

Louis’ legs and arms come around him, and he tastes like cigarettes and toothpaste and Louis, and Harry gets lost in it.

When Louis starts kissing and licking his neck, Harry’s hand wanders down the front of his sweater until they reach his sweatpants and cup Louis’ growing cock.

Louis lets out a low moan and bites into his neck.

“Suck me off. Please.” He whispers to Harry, and the hot breath brushing his earlobe is too much for him to say no. Besides, why would he say no to giving Louis a blowjob?

Harry puts him down and gets to his knees, fingers curling around the hem of Louis’ sweatpants before he pulls them down together with the briefs underneath.

Louis’ semi is staring him right in the face, so Harry takes a hold of it. His cock is smooth and even though he can’t see it, he can feel that it’s thick.

“Fuck.” Louis exhales as soon as Harry takes him into his mouth, all the way down until it reaches the back of his throat.

He alternates between sucking and licking, moving his fist up and down in rhythm with his own mouth, just like he used to do it on the guys that came before. He thought he’d lost his skills, but judging by the way Louis breathes, he’s okay.

Louis’ fingers tangle into his hair and they pull at it, which causes Harry to moan.

“Like that?” Louis asks breathlessly, tugging once again.

Harry nods and lays his tongue flat on the underside of Louis’ dick, moving his head up and down until he’s out of breath.

“Fuck my mouth.” He mumbles with a cock still in his mouth.

“W-what?”

Harry pulls off, saliva mixed with precum dangling from his lips. “Fuck my mouth.”

“Shit, okay.”

Louis guides his head back in, and keeps it in place by Harry’s hair as he moves his hips forward. He goes slowly at first, but then picks up his pace.

Harry places his hands on Louis’ thighs and opens wide, closing his eyes because darkness is pretty much all he can see anyway.

“This might be embarrassing but I’m-“

Harry pulls away from Louis’ grip and takes matters into his own hands (literally). He circles his tongue around the tip and plays with Louis’ balls before running his tongue all the way from the tip to where his hand is resting, and then back up.

Louis comes in his mouth with a high-pitched cry, and Harry waits a few seconds to swallow everything before he pulls off. He stands up and wipes his mouth.

“You really need to eat more fruit-“ he starts, but doesn’t get to finish because Louis is kissing him again and one of his hands is sneaking into his pants to jerk him off.

Harry comes with a low groan in Louis hand, and then they press their foreheads against each other, trying to even their breathing.

“You’re the first boy to kiss me after a blow job.” Harry tells him.

“I don’t have a problem with that.” Louis smiles against his lips. “By the way, nice cock.”

“You can’t even see it.”

“I can feel it though.” He says and wipes his hand on his sweatpants. “Also, I don’t usually come so fast.”

“It’s fine. My knees were starting to hurt anyway.”

Louis smiles against his lips and kisses him again.

They pull apart a few minutes later, and Harry takes a look around. “What direction did we come from?”

Louis looks around. “Did you pay attention?”

“Um, no? You led the way.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> ! Next update will be on October 4th, 5pm UK time ! (I've decided to post one in every two weeks so I can have time to focus on school, social life, and also writing. There are less than 10 chapters left of this story for those wondering.)
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	9. The one with the lads night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm sorry for the delay...:(
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Louis looks around for at least twenty minutes, trying to find where they came from.

“Was it this way?” he asks Harry, pointing in one direction.

“Um, no. I don’t remember that tree.”

Louis sighs and turns his head. “What about this one?”

“I don’t-“

“Okay you have to stop saying that to everything I point at when we both know you weren’t even watching where we came from because you were too busy staring at my ass!” Louis exclaims, propping a hand on his hip in a disapproving manor.

“And we both know that you like it when I stare at you.”

Louis makes a face, but doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. He’s obviously been taken by surprise.

“Getting cocky now, are we?”

“We both got _cocky_ just minutes ago.” Harry says, trying to make a pun but failing.

Louis stares at him before he pulls Harry in for another kiss.

“What’s that for?” Harry asks against Louis’ lips when they pull apart.

“Just…there’s just something about the way you try to make a joke that turns me on.”

“You get off to bad puns?”

“Bad puns made by tall legal guys with green eyes, giant heads, and awful style senses.”

“Heyyyy.”

“Did I forget to mention frog features?” Louis asks giggling (as in ACTUALLY _giggling_ ), sliding his hand under Harry’s shirt, curling his fingers over his skin.

Harry rolls his eyes and steps back. “Let’s try to find the-“

“It’s that way.” Louis says, nodding on another direction he’s probably pointed out before.

“What? How do you know?”

“I remember.”

Harry makes a confused face. “What? What do you mean?”

“I mean, I know the way back to the camp.”

“So why did we spend more than half an hour walking through the woods alone? I almost pissed myself when I heard a branch cracking.”

“I was just fucking with you.”

“You were-ugh.” Harry says and turns around, crossing his arms. “You’re an asshole.”

“Aw, come on now, don’t get mad. It was a joke.”

“The worst one yet. You know, you really think you’re so funny and stuff, but you’re actually not. All of your jokes are either overused, boring, or just plain _unfunny_.”

Louis stares at Harry, crossing his arm. “Wow. Picking at my humor. Fuck you. You can say anything about anything, but do not fuck with my humor.”

“Oh, please. Give me a break. Let’s just go back-“

“No.” Louis says.

“Why the fuck not? We’ve been out of the tent for more than an hour and I’m starting to get really cold and really mad.”

Louis looks at him but doesn’t say anything.

“Oh, you’re the angry one now? Fine. I’ll find the way back on my own.”

Harry turns around and as soon as he takes a step in the opposite direction, there’s a hand clutching his shirt to prohibit him from moving.

“If you carry me.”

“Excuse me?” Harry asks, wanting to turn back and look at him, but Louis places his hand on his shoulders.

“I’ll show you the way back to our camp if you give me a piggy back.”

Harry sighs. “Fine.”

Louis doesn’t waste any time to jump on Harry’s back and secure his legs around his waist.

“Right ahead until I tell you to turn.”

Harry follows his instructions, and tries to focus even when Louis places his chin on his shoulder, talking into his cheek.

“You know, I didn’t actually want to make you mad.” Louis eventually says when Harry can see the dimming light coming from the fire.

“You wanted to make fun of me by pretending we were lost.”

Harry can feel Louis shaking his head. “No. I was trying to stall.”

“Why?”

“To spend more time with you.” Louis says, eyes glimmering from the flames as they step on their campgrounds.

“You could’ve just said so without having to give me a heart attack.”

“But it was more thrilling, wasn’t it?” Louis asks and then lowers his voice as soon as they enter the ENTRYWAY of the tent.

Harry shakes his head and puts him down. Then he unzips the tent, and then gets in right before Louis does. They make sure not to make any noise as they shuffle back into their sleeping bags, and then say goodnight.

But for some odd reason, Harry can’t fall asleep. He can _feel_ Louis next to him, and he knows Louis isn’t asleep either, because his breathing isn’t even and he hasn’t started lightly snoring.

“Go to sleep.” Louis tells him before Harry can find something to say.

“You go to sleep.”

Louis shuffles in his sleeping bag and turns to face Harry. “We need to stop acting like children.”

“I’ll stop when you stop, deal?”

Louis rolls his eyes and doesn’t answer. Harry waits a couple of seconds, looking for something to say, _anything_ , just to keep the conversation going. He hates it when this happens.

But then Louis unzips his sleeping bag, and then Harry’s, giving no explanation whatsoever.

“What are you doing?” Harry whispers, confused.

“It’s too warm in there.” Louis complains.

“So?”

“So, cuddle me.”

Harry is taken aback by the words, but lifts one of his arm up nonetheless and lets Louis snuggle into him.

“You smell good.” Louis mumbles into his shirt.

“I smell like jizz.”

Louis giggles and looks up. “I said you smell good.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Who swallowed again?”

Harry does a Jim Halpert face into the darkness, but pulls Louis closer nonetheless.

They talk about the different types of sperm there is, and how different they taste (really romantic; Harry knows), until Louis yawns and throws his leg over Harry’s. He struggles to lift his head and look up at Harry, before he leans in and places a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Go to sleep.”

And after that, Harry does.

-

They end up not going hiking anymore because no one wakes up on time, so around noon they gather their stuff, get the tents down, and clean up before they start to make their way back down on the mountain.

“So I was thinking.” Louis starts when they sit down on the bus. This time, Louis makes sure he climbs in right after him, before Ander even has the chance to set foot on the bus, and sits down next to Harry.

“You were thinking?”

“I was thinking, I want to do a lad’s night next week.”

“Lad’s night? What does that entail?”

“I means playing FIFA, drinking some beers, ordering takeout and watching Marvel movies. You in?”

“Who else is coming?”

“Well Liam and Zayn, obviously. And I’m thinking of inviting Niall and David?”

“Yeah, that sounds fun. What about Ander though?”

Louis scrunches his nose. “I said beers and FIFA, not Netflix and chill. If you want to fuck him, do it in your own house.”

“Who said I’m a top?”

“You’re a bottom?” Louis asks, looking at him intensely.

“Well, no. I mean, not really. I like it both ways.”

Louis hums.

“What about you?”

“Me? Oh, I’ve never had sex with a guy before.”

Harry looks at him in disbelief. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“Because I’m lying. I fucked two or three guys in France, but that’s about it. Also, I’d appreciate this if you kept this information to yourself.”

Harry nods. “Of course. Who would I tell?”

“I don’t know? Niall? Barbara?”

“They wouldn’t judge, but I’m not going to tell them.”

The two of them are interrupted by Giggs, who’s walking down the aisle and handing everyone’s phone back.

When Harry turns his mobile data on, he’s got 200 unread WhatsApp messages, four snaps, and ten Facebook notifications.

**The SQUAD**

**(179 unread messages)**

Harry scrolls through the conversation without actually bothering to read it, wondering why Niall and Barbara can’t just talk on their private chat.

 **Harry:** hi

 **Harry:** got my phone back

 **Barbara:** how was it?

 **Harry:** great ;)

 **Niall:** ?

 **Barbara:** ??

 **Harry:** blowjobs and handjobs were exchanged

 **Barbara:** WHAT

 **Barbara:** Louis Tomlinson gave you a blow job?

 **Harry:** I did

 **Harry:** suck him off

 **Harry:** he only used his hand

 **Niall:** is his dick small and thick?

 **Barbara:** or is it long and thick?

 **Barbara:** we made a bet

 **Barbara:** HARRY

Harry locks his phone, hoping Louis wasn’t reading over his shoulder.

The bus stops in the parking lot of their training centre, and Harry is not too pleased when he sees a bunch of paparazzi waiting outside for them. There are also a bunch of guys (and girls), some dressed in Man United shirts, looking into the bus and holding out different items that need to be signed.

“Who called them here?” He hears Rooney ask, looking out the window from behind the curtain.

No one answers, so everyone gathers their bags from the suspended compartment and gets into a long line to leave the bus. Harry is right behind Louis.

“You okay?” Louis asks him, and places a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. It might be intimidating for you.”

“I’ll manage.”

Once they exit the bus and try to make their way inside the building, someone manages to grab Harry by the sleeve and almost make him trip over his own feet.

“Is this your new boyfriend Tomlinson?” someone shouts and Harry goes red as he pulls away from the arm that was holding him back.

Louis turns his head towards the pap that bravely asked the question, and proceeds to flip him off. Harry smiles at him and the last thing he sees before entering the building is a bright flash going off.

-

When he gets home, his father isn’t there, and judging by the vacant spot in their driveway, he’s gone out. Harry takes a shower and then opens his laptop to check his Tumblr and Facebook.

His follower count has increased from 1.5k to 3k in less than three days. He shakes his head and bothers to reblog some pictures and text posts he thinks are funny before he pulls out a notebook labeled MISC, and opens it at a blank page.

**_Why Louis may want me or I could just be insane (a list by Harry Styles)_ **

**_~~Pros|Cons~~ _ **

**_Want:_ **

_\- he gave me a handjob_

_-he let me give him a blowjob-ASKED me to_

_-he’s jealous of Ander_

_-invited me to lad’s night_

_-_

Harry stares at what he’s written so far and realizes that he might be insane after all, because the points his made in the Want section may as well go into the Insanity section.

He folds up the paper and places it on his desk before he goes back to his laptop and searches through his movie folder to find something he can watch to pass the time.

His phone buzzes on the pillow next to him and he throws a quick look at the screen, before he takes a double look.

 **Louis:** so are you coming on Friday?

Harry unlocks his phone and stares at the screen. He knows his father wouldn’t mind if he slept at someone else’s house during the weekend to he types ‘yes’.

 **Louis:** tell Niall

 **Louis:** Zayn and Liam are coming too

 **Louis:** :)

 **Harry:** what should I bring?

Louis sees the message but doesn’t answer, so Harry locks his phone and continues to watch a horror movie he picked out.

Eventually, his phone buzzes.

 **Louis:** bring your body baby

 **Louis:** ;)

-

Harry is not okay. Not even after Niall tells him that he’ll be at Louis’ on Friday. Anxiety is running through his veins every time he reads, or even thinks, about the message Louis sent him.

_‘Bring your body baby’ ???? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?_

One thing he didn’t have to worry about this week though, is the photos of him leaving the bus going viral. Apparently, thanks to Louis’ middle finger, those photos can’t be published anywhere (except of Tumblr of course, but he already reblogged a picture of the incident-sue him).

“So that’s what he wrote? Bring your body baby?” Barbara asks on Friday afternoon, a week later during her lunch break.

As soon as Harry got off from practice he took the first tube to Arndale because he hasn’t gotten around to see Barbara face to face for a week, because he knows he can always vent to her about his ‘Louis problems’, as they like to call it.

“Yeah. And then a winky face.”

“Was it a winking emoji or just a semicolon and a bracket?”

“Semicolon and bracket.”

“Ooh. That’s pretty serious.”

“Is it? Why?”

“Because an emoji is so easy to send, whereas a winky face made with the normal keyboard takes time and premeditation. It’s more serious than a playful emoji.”

“Jesus Christ, this feels like I’m in English Lit all over again where we would analyze every single word of the book.”

Barbara rolls her eyes. “But this is something actually _important_ , who cares what the hidden meaning behind Oliver Twist is? I sure don’t.”

“Barbara, you aced that class.”

She flips her hair back and stabs a piece of chicken from her salad. “That’s because I like to read and write. Not because I actually _cared_ about the books or what they were about.”

“Whatever. I’m going over there later tonight and I’ll ask him about it.”

“You’ll actually do that?” she asks with her mouth full.

“Yeah, I’m _actually_ going to do that. He can’t fuck with my mind like this just for fun. If he thinks that playing with my emotions is funny, then he’s really, _really_ , wrong.”

“What if he wants to have sex with you?”

Harry chokes on his pizza. “I don’t know. He probably doesn’t.”

“He asked you to suck him off. That’s the first step.”

“And which is the next one?”

Barbara shrugs, placing her fork onto her now empty plate. “Fingering, rimming, probably.”

“How do you know more about this than me?”

“I’ve been reading some hardcore Harry Potter fanfiction lately.”

“With whom?”

“Draco and Harry. They’d make the best couple ever.”

Harry nods in agreement. “And the third step is taking it up the arse?”

“Yeah.”

They begin laughing and Harry eventually asks the waiter for their check.

“So you’ll keep me updated tonight right?” Barbara asks him while they smoke outside of the shopping centre before she has to go back inside for three more hours of work.

“Of course.”

“I’m asking you because I know Niall will get way too drunk.”

“I know.”

“Also, make sure-“

“He doesn’t slip into an alcoholic coma. Yeah yeah, I know the drill.”

-

Harry is staring at Louis’ front door merely a few hours later. He can already hear voices from inside, and wonders if anyone would notice if he just didn’t come. Then he realizes that he’s acting like an immature child and he should just get over it, so he knocks rings the doorbell.

The door opens a few seconds later and Liam is staring at him with a grin on his face.

“You’re just in time Harry,” he says, shaking his hand. “We were just about to start a new game of FIFA.”

“Is Niall here?” Harry asks, but gets a response when he hears a familiar laugh coming from the living room.

He finds Niall and Louis on the couch drinking beer and watching something on TV. Zayn is in the kitchen, pouring himself a Margarita because apparently he doesn’t like to start his nights with a beer.

“Harreh, are you always late to everything?” Louis asks, checking his wristwatch without even looking at Harry.

“Yeah, sorry. I had to take the tube.”

“Where can I leave my bag?”

“Just pick a room upstairs.”

Harry doesn’t need to be told twice, so he quickly hurries up the stairs and checks the guest bedrooms. There are two bags in one, and then another bag in the one across from Louis’. Without even thinking about it, he walks over to Louis’ room and drops his bag on the bed.

When he comes back downstairs, he’s dressed in a pair of sweats and a tank top. The four of them are on the couch already, with Zayn sitting on the floor at their feet, so Harry takes a seat in the armchair.

Louis gives a controller to each Harry and Zayn, before he sits back on the couch. “The winner plays against Liam, and then against Niall, and then me.”

“Why you?” Harry asks.

“Because you and Zayn are the worst players, and I’m the best.”

“Heyyy. You’ve never seen me play FIFA.”

“Yeah, but you’re pretty shit at football-“

“You’ve also never seen me play football.” Harry says, crossing his arms.

“Come on then, prove me wrong babe.”

The pet name obviously takes everyone by surprise, even Louis, who tries to mask it by taking a swig from his beer.

Zayn loses their game so Harry proceeds to play with Liam, who surprisingly, also loses against him. Niall beats him 5-4. Louis wins eventually, and they all complain that the game wasn’t fair and they should make a proper tournament out of it.

By the time they get to the semi finals, Harry is already out and now drinking his fourth beer while watching Niall trying to defeat Louis.

He’s a bit tipsy now, definitely the first time he’s ever gotten drunk from simple beer.

When Louis wins, he celebrates by yelling at Niall and ruffling his hair, and then asks Liam to order pizzas and Chinese takeout, because apparently ‘they’re both to good so why not have both kinds’?

They put on the newest Avengers movie that only Harry hasn’t seen yet, and open another six-pack of beer. Harry decides to stop drinking it and asks Zayn where he can fix himself a stronger drink.

“In the kitchen, third cupboard to the right of the sink.”

“Thanks.”

Harry gets up from the armchair and walks away, into the kitchen. He finds a bottle of Vodka and a can of RedBull in the fridge, so he mixes them up in a glass and leans against the counter to taste it.

“Try not to get too drunk and throw up okay?” Louis asks him as soon as he comes into the kitchen to set a dirty chips bowl in the sink.

“’m not going to throw up.”

“If you do though, please use the bathroom downstairs.”

“Okay.” Harry says, rolling his eyes. “’m not a baby you know.”

“I know.”

Harry takes another gulp of his drink, and then makes a face when the taste finally hits him. “Speaking of ‘baby’, what did you mean by ‘bring your body baby’?”

“Uh, I was listening to The Weeknd.”

“That’s bullshit. You don’t like that kind of music.”

Louis raises his brows and crosses his arms, cocking his head. “And how would you know?”

“You only listen to pop music on the radio in the car.”

“The Weeknd is the best fuck music.”

Harry almost chokes on the Vodka that threatens to come back up. “What? Who were you fucking when you texted me?”

“No one, I’m just saying. Don’t you like The Weeknd?”

“I do. But only some songs.”

“The mainstream ones.” Louis says, shaking his head.

“Maybe.”

Harry watches him take a glass from one of the cupboards and pouring the same exact drink into it.

“I thought you hated Vodka.”

“Well, not if it’s mixed with something else so I can barely taste it.”

“Cheers to that then.”

He follows Louis out of the kitchen, eyes trained to the back of his head. Zayn has now taken Louis’ spot on the couch, so Harry drops himself into the armchair as quick as possible before Louis can get to it.

“Scoot over.” Louis tells him and nudges Harry’s knee with his own.

“There’s not enough room.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

Harry sighs and squishes himself to the side, before Louis drops down next to him, one leg over the other armrest.

The movie is great, but it’s too bad that Harry can barely concentrate on what’s going on because of Louis’ closeness and the way their thighs are touching.

The pizza arrives right before the Chinese takeout does, and they spend the rest of the movie eating and drinking even more than they already were, laughing about everything now that the alcohol has gotten to all of them.

“Heyyyy Harryyy.” Louis drawls out right into Harry’s ear when the credits start rolling. He lights up a cigarette and takes a long drag, before blowing the smoke in Harry’s face.

“What?”

Harry turns his head, and their noses accidentally bump together.

“Massage me.”

“Why-what? Why would I do that?”

“Because my back feels tense and you’ve got huuuge hands. So if you’re not going to put them to a better use, at least massage my back.”

Harry rolls his eyes and turns his torso so he can get better access to Louis back on the armchair, but apparently Louis has other plans. He sits up, spreads Harry’s legs, and then sits down between them before pulling Harry’s legs around his waist so they can fit in the chair better.

Harry rubs his palms together so he can get them warm, and then starts massaging Louis’ shoulders, before moving further down his back.

“Shit, that feels so good.” Louis says, leaning his head back so that Harry’s knuckles brush against the hair at the back of his neck.

“Are you wanking him off?” Niall loudly asks from the couch, holding up his beer bottle.

“Niall, you can literally see us, we’re not doing anything.”

Louis laughs and wiggles his bum against Harry’s crotch; probably unaware of the effect it has on the younger boy. Harry doesn’t tell him that, but Louis is doing the same thing five minutes later, and Harry has to make him stop if he doesn’t want to get a hard-on.

He grips into Louis’ skin and presses his lips against his ear. “Stop it.”

Louis stops abruptly and visibly tenses under Harry’s hands. He leans against Harry’s chest and whispers back:

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to get a boner and I’m wearing sweatpants, so it might be embarrassing.”

“Not for me.” Louis mischievously says, grinning against his earlobe.

“Oh fuck off.”

Louis smirks. “Wouldn’t you rather I fucked you?”

Harry’s heart stops and his breathing hitches. “That doesn’t help.” He mumbles.

“Since when do I want to help you? You know I like to tease you.”

“You’re a dick.”

“You like my dick.”

Honestly, can Harry ever win with him? Why is Louis trying so hard to make him mad? Is this the way he flirts with people? Probably not.

“Who lied to you?” Harry replies.

 _Good one,_ he thinks.

“Mmm, your own cock did last week.”

Okay, the situation is getting _way_ out of hand.

Louis’ lips skim over his neck, and Harry shouldn’t be getting this excited just from a mere lip grazing. He tries to say something else but Louis cuts him short by placing his lips on Harry’s.

And now they’re making out. Right in front of the other guys. And no one is saying anything. It’s alarming.

“People can see us.” Harry whispers against his lips.

“They’re too drunk, they won’t remember this tomorrow.”

“What if they will?”

Louis shrugs, and then turns in the armchair so he’s sitting across Harry’s lap, both legs hanging over the right armrest.

“Now kiss me you fool.”

“You’re calling me a fool and expect me to kiss you right after?”

“Mhm.”

Louis puckers his lips and wraps his hands around Harry’s neck. He pulls him in towards his lips and they start kissing again for what seems like minutes, maybe hours.

“Alright, I think I’m going to bed.” Zayn mumbles and stands up from the couch, before he falls right back on it. “Whoa, ‘m a bit dizzy.”

Louis pulls away from Harry’s lips, his own incredibly red and swollen. “What time is it?”

He answers his own question by looking at the watch on his wrist. “Half past twelve. Yeah, let’s go to sleep.”

“I would, if you’d get off me.”

“Get off you or get you off?”

“Jesus, you really _are_ a horny drunk, aren’t you?”

Louis closes his eyes and leans his head against Harry’s shoulder as the other guys stand up and turn off the TV.

“Carry me.” He orders, tightening his arms around Harry’s neck.

“You’re kidding me right?”

“That’s the second time you indirectly called me fat tonight and I don’t appreciate it.”

“Lou, I’m so drunk we’re both going to fall and twist our necks.”

“I’ll give you a hundred quid if you carry me upstairs right now.”

“I’ll do it!” comes Niall’s voice from upstairs, before two doors slam shut.

Harry sighs and proceeds to stand up while also lifting Louis bridal style.

“Mmm sooo drunk.” Louis says, burying his nose into Harry’s chest.

It’s not that hard getting upstairs. The hard part comes when Harry has to open the door to Louis’ bedroom with his knee so he won’t drop the grown man.

“Bed time for me.” Louis hums. “Bed time for me.”

And the thing is; he’s just too adorable Harry wants to squeeze him until he pops. And then fuck him really good. But that won’t happen tonight, judging by the state they’re both in.

“Where are you sleeping tonight?”

Harry puts Louis down on the bed. “In here. I already put the bag there.”

“Purrrfect. ‘m going to sleep now.”

“Won’t you be too warm in those clothes?”

“I’m too tired to get undressed. You do it for me.”

Harry kneels on the bed next to him and pulls Louis’ shirt off, and the pants follow.

“I can’t even get a proper hard on because I’m soooo drunk.”

“It’s fine, just get under the blanket.”

Louis obliges, and as soon as he’s under the blanket, he watches Harry getting undressed.

“You’ve got nice legs. And a nice chest. And a really nice cock.”

“You can’t even see it.”

“I will though, right?”

Harry gets into bed next to him without answering, and then turns off the light.

“Right?” Louis repeats the question, turning on his side to face Harry.

“Right. When the time comes.”

Louis pouts, but doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he kisses Harry with an open mouth and a lot of tongue. The kiss is sloppy, but this time slower and deeper; just the way Harry likes it.

At one point, Louis straddles him and they kiss like that, until he eventually stops responding.

“Louis?”

Harry opens his eyes to see that Louis’ are closed.

“Did you literally fall asleep while we were snogging?”

Louis doesn’t answer. Harry sighs and struggles to pull him a bit further down so that Louis’ cheek is resting on his chest, and even though he’s straddling him, Harry still manages to fall asleep.

-

He is still asleep when Harry wakes up, so he tries to roll Louis off of him and get out of bed without waking him up.

The house is still quiet when he gets downstairs, and by the time he’s finished cleaning up and doing the dishes, Liam walks into the kitchen with Niall behind him.

“My head hurts.” Niall complains and drops on one of the chairs at the table.

“Coffee?” Harry asks, ignoring his statement as he picks up the coffee pot.

“You’re a life saver.” Liam smiles and holds out a clean mug.

Zayn joins them five minutes later, and they spend the next hour talking about what happened yesterday while smoking and drinking coffee.

“So you and Louis were quite wild with the PDA.” Liam states and places his now empty mug in the sink. He leans against the counter and crosses his arms.

“Uh…yeah. We were both drunk. And we hoped you were too, so you wouldn’t remember it once you woke up.”

“Well, I still do, and I don’t know if I should wash my eyes or just go throw up.” Zayn tells him.

“Am I the only one who doesn’t remember this?”

They all stare at Niall.

“What? I drank more than all of you put together.” He says defensively. “And I’m skinnier.”

“That has nothing to do with it.” Liam argues.

“Yes it does. It depends on your body weight.”

They start a debate about who can get drunk easier and why, and everyone is so invested in the topic that Harry is the only one who notices Louis walking in.

He’s got his sleepy face on, eyes rimmed red and hair sticking out in every single direction, and _great_ , he’s only wearing his boxers.

“What’s all this noise in my house at this hour?” Louis asks and closes his eyes.

“It’s two in the afternoon.”

“What did I _just_ say, Liam?”

Liam rolls his eyes and checks his phone. “I have to go. I’m meeting Soph for lunch in thirty minutes and I stink like a rubbish bin.”

“Aw Liam, don’t worry.” Louis smiles. “That’s your usual smell.”

Harry asks Liam if he can drop him off at the tube station. Liam agrees, and Harry tries not to think too much into the sad, disappointed look Louis gives him when he leaves.

-

It turns out that the cantonment everyone was talking about a couple of weeks ago will officially start on Friday the 29th (they’re leaving on the 28th), and will end on August 4th, so that the whole team can relax for a few days before the first game of the League.

“This year, we’re going to California.” Van Gaal tells them on Monday. “All expenses paid, we’ll be gone for seven days…most of you know the drill already.”

Everyone stays quiet.

“Harry, as I’ve said before, you’re welcome to join us if you want to.”

Harry nods, cheeks heating up. “Alright.” He tries not to look in Louis direction. Because things are too weird. They haven’t talked since his ‘lads night’ sleepover, but they make way too much eye contact for it to be just coincidental.

“Any further questions?”

No one says anything. Harry looks down at his hands.

“Alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

-

His father agrees to the whole cantonment thing and even gives him money for the whole week, which is a bit suspicious.

 _Maybe he wants the house to himself so Kathy can come over_ , Harry thinks a couple of days later as he packs his suitcase. They’re supposed to meet at the training complex in less than thirty minutes to leave for the airport, and Harry still hasn’t finished packing.

It’s already dark outside; their plane leaves at 12:30am, so they can touch down in LA at 4am local time and sleep off the jetlag until dinnertime.

Everything is well thought out, except of the part where Harry is supposed to pick up his pace with the packing. He’s already said goodbye to Barbara and Niall yesterday when they came over to lounge by the pool, and now there’s a taxi waiting for him downstairs (his father has been sleeping since 8pm because he has a trial to attend tomorrow; even though he promised he’d wake up to take him to the training complex) already, so he throws everything else that’s left on the bed in the suitcase, zips it up, and then off he goes.

He gets to the complex in time, lucky for him, and hands his suitcase to the driver before he hops on the bus.

Louis is in the back next to David, so Harry takes a seat next to Ander right across from them. David and Ander greet him with happy smiles and handshakes, and Louis just raises his eyebrows in a playful manner.

The airport is buzzing when they get there, and everyone goes to the bathroom before they check in.

“Having fun so far?” Louis asks while Harry is drying his hands.

“Why would I be having fun so far?”

“You know, because you’re sitting next to your crush and all.”

“I don’t have a crush on Ander.”

Louis snorts. “Of course you don’t.”

“You’re really confusing sometimes. I mean, if I were to have a crush on someone it wouldn’t be a guy I barely talk to.” Harry says and pulls his hands away from under the automatic hand dryer. “It would probably be the guy I’ve been kissing for a few weeks now. Just saying.”

As he exits the bathroom without looking back, he wonders if Louis just realized that Harry confessed his attraction and obvious crush on him. But it’s too late to turn back now, so oh well.

Their tickets are in alphabetical order apparently, so Harry ends up having a seat in first class right next to Louis Tomlinson.

“What seat do you have?” Louis asks when Harry sits down in 34A.

“34A, as you can see.”

“I have 34B. Can I have the window seat?”

Harry sighs and stands up to let Louis by the window.

An airhostess comes in a few minutes later to act out the flight instructions, and before they know it the plane is moving.

As soon as they’re up in the air, Harry checks all the movies the small TV is equipped with. He’s in an internal debate over Killers and Titanic when he feels someone’s hot breath fanning over his cheek.

“You know what’s something I always wanted to do?” Louis asks in a low voice so the others can’t hear them.

“I’m afraid to ask.” Harry says, trying to keep a calm composure.

“Join the mile high club.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> ! Next update will be on the weekend of October 17-18, around 6pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	10. The one with What Happens In Malibu Stays In Malibu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this one ;)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

“The mile high club?” Harry asks, trying to keep his calm and appear as chill as possible.

“Yeah. You know what that is, right?”

Harry nods. “Not sure about it though.”

Louis pouts. “I was just joking. Don’t look too much into it, I like getting you worked up.”

“That’s not fair to me.”

Louis doesn’t respond to that, so Harry stands up and goes to the bathroom once the seatbelt lights go out. Once he gets there, he stares at himself in the mirror and exhales. What has he done in his past life to deserve this kind of treatment from Louis Tomlinson? He has no idea.

There’s a knock on the door a minute later.

“It’s occupied.”

“Let me in.” comes Louis’ voice from outside.

“I’m peeing.”

“No you’re not.”

“Why do you want to come in.”

When an answer doesn’t come, Harry sighs and lets Louis in.

“You’re not mad, are you?”

“Mad that you’re taking the piss? No.”

“Isn’t it ironic that you think I’m taking the piss when we’re in a bathroom?”

Harry’s face doesn’t flinch. “That’s not funny.”

“Ah, you’re taking jabs at my humor once again.”

“I’m not sure that it can even be called humor.”

Louis shakes his head before he reaches out and grips into Harry’s shirt. “Kiss me.”

“No.”

“Kiss me.” He repeats, so Harry does.

They kiss frantically, like they’re running out of time and someone might be waiting outside. The sink is digging into Harry’s back uncomfortably but he tries to focus on the pleasure coming from Louis’ tongue against his own instead.

There’s a knock on the door but they don’t make a sound because their mouths are attached and Louis’ thigh is now between Harry’s legs, rubbing against his crotch.

Harry’s hands make their way into Louis’ hair and he pulls him closer, as close as he possibly can, wondering whether he could sit on the sink and get Louis to stand between his legs.

The door suddenly swings open and David enters the already cramped space. The goalkeeper stops abruptly when he sees them, just as Harry pulls away from Louis. They must look like two deer caught in the headlights.

“Oh, shit, sorry.” David awkwardly says and steps back, shutting the door quickly.

“Fuck.” Louis exhales into Harry’s throat.

“You didn’t lock the door?”

“It slipped my mind.”

Louis takes a step back from him and rearranges himself in the mirror.

“He won’t say anything to anyone, will he?” he asks Louis.

“I don’t think so. ‘m gonna talk to him.”

“And say what exactly? How are you going to explain what he just saw?”

“He’s probably going to ask me how long this has been going on, and I’ll tell him that we’ve been occasionally kissing for a few weeks now, but there’s nothing serious going on.”

“Right.”

Louis frowns at him. “Why do you sound so disappointed? Did I give you the wrong impression about ‘us’?”

Harry doesn’t even know what to say. He knows Louis’ right, that kissing and sometimes getting each other off (even though it only happened once) is all they’re doing. It’s neither Louis’ fault, nor his own, really, that he got a bit attached and developed a mild crush.

They get back to their seats; Harry first and then Louis a few minutes after. No one notices anything out of the ordinary except of David, who keeps looking at Louis from time to time, probably thinking he’s being discrete.

They land at LAX at quarter past four am local time, and they’re all incredibly jet lagged no one is even talking. A bus takes them from the airport to their hotel, and although everyone wants to sleep, Van Gaal is still talking about rooming arrangements.

“You’re going to share a room with the same person you sat on the plane with, hence the alphabetical order.”

Harry’s face falls even though it’s pressed against the window.

_Great. The last thing I needed was to share a room with Louis._

“We’re going to meet up at seven pm in the hotel lobby to go to dinner. Until then, you can sleep off your jetlag or do whatever. You know the drill.”

The Malibu Beach Inn is right by the shore, where they’re going to do their early morning beach runs daily. Harry wonders, once again, whether he can get out of the run; after all, he’s not part of the team. Then again, he _is_ on this trip even though he’s not a player, so the respectful thing to do would be to take part in the ‘football activities’, as he likes to call it.

Louis gets the card for their room, 316, and Harry follows him to the elevator.

“So before we go in and live in the same room for a week, I just wanted to warn you that I’m a messy person.” Louis tells him while they’re in the elevator, waiting to reach the third floor.

“It’s fine. I’ve had Niall live with me two weeks a couple of years ago, I think I can survive pretty much everything.”

“Why did Niall come to live with you for two weeks?”

Harry bites his lip. “Well, his parents got into a big fight right before they got divorced so he just kind of wanted to get away from it all for a little while.”

“How nice of you.”

“Yeah. My dad wasn’t really around at that time either so it was nice to have some company.”

“Is your dad really that bad?”

Harry shrugs just as the door open. “Not really. A more appropriate word would be…careless. Or just busy. Because he’s a lawyer.”

“That’s why you’re going to study law?”

“When did I tell you what I want to study?”

Louis opens the door. “You told me that a while ago.”

“Oh. Well, partially. I’d like to help people but the downside of it all is that I’ve got way too much to study.”

“Eh, if you like it, you’ll manage.”

They both stop and stare at the bed in the corner. A double bed. A _king_ sized, double bed.

“So…I think we lucked out since we have an ocean view room.” Louis says and drops his suitcase by the closet.

“Yeah.”

“I sleep on the right, by the way.”

“That’s not fair! Why do I have to sleep by the wall? What if I need to take a wee during the night?”

“You’re closer to the outlet so why are you complaining?”

“Fine, I guess it’s only fair.”

They take turns unpacking and showering, and by the time they’re done it’s way past five in the morning, so they decide to go to sleep.

Louis gets into bed first, which leaves Harry no option but to crawl over him and get on his side.

“Good night.”

“Night.”

“Did you set an alarm?”

Louis snorts. “No.”

“Did you talk to David?”

“No.”

“Alright then. Don’t snore too loud.”

Louis gasps and turns on his side. “Harry Styles, I am appalled! I _never_ snore.”

“Um, yes you do? All the time.”

“How many times have you heard me do it? Honestly.”

“Honestly?” Harry smiles. “Every time we slept in the same bed.”

Louis scoffs and turns on his back. “If it bothers you and you can’t sleep, just wake me up or roll me over on my stomach.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Goodnight.” Louis says again. “And for real this time.”

“Night.”

-

Heavy knocks on the door and the insistent ringing of the phone wake them up.

“Shut it off. Make it stop.” Louis whines and buries his head into his pillow.

Harry stretches and yawns, before he rubs his eyes so he can sit up in the bed. He checks the clock on his phone.

“It’s half past five in the afternoon. We slept for twelve hours straight.”

Louis mumbles something incoherently, and then pulls the pillow over his head to drown out all the sounds.

Harry sighs and climbs over him, one hand picking up the phone and the other one opening the door. He’s not sure what to focus on; on a serious-looking David staring at him or at the man telling him that this is a wake up call per request.

“Thank you.” He mumbles into the phone and hangs up. “Um. Hi.”

“Hi.” David awkwardly says and looks over Harry’s shoulder. “Can I come in?”

Harry nods and steps aside, letting him enter the room. He closes the door and watches David as he looks at him, then at Louis, who’s now sitting up and yawning, and then back at him.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“Dear _God_ David.” Louis exclaims and gets out of bed. “You’re not interrupting anything.”

David sits down on one of the couches and stares out the glass doors of the balcony. “Ocean view room. Nice.”

“Cut the shit bro, we all know why you’re here.” Louis tells him as he searches for something to wear through the closet.

“Right, about that…am I supposed to ask what’s going on here?”

Harry sits down on the bed and crosses his arms over his naked chest.

“There’s nothing going on here. Harold and I are just kissing buddies.”

“Kissing buddies?”

“Kissing _pals_ then, if you will.”

“So how long has this been going on then?”

“About a month or so.” Louis answers.”

“A _month? Un mes?_ And I didn’t know about it? I didn’t figure it out? Dios mio!”

“Okay you have to stop with the Spanish this early in the morning if you don’t want me to have a breakdown.” Louis threatens.

“It’s almost six in the evening.” Harry mumbles.

“Well, I’m gonna take a shower now because I feel like I haven’t done that in weeks. What time are we supposed to be in the lobby?”

“Seven. But you know Van Gaal, so we should be there at least ten minutes early.”

“Right.” Louis snorts, before he walks into the bathroom and shuts the door behind him.

Harry and David stare at each other for a few awkward seconds.

“Harry.” the older man starts.

“Oh no, I know this look.”

“What look?”

“The we-need-to-have-a-talk look.”

David shakes his head. “There’s no talk.”

“Yes there is. I can see it on your face. I got this talk from both my father, Zayn, and I’m pretty sure Liam also told me something along those lines.”

David sighs. “Fine. I won’t say anything then.”

“To me right now, or to anyone in general about what you saw?”

“Both.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, I have to go now, but I’ll see you luego. I have to shower because I think I smell like a pigsty.”

Harry smiles. “Well, I didn’t want so say anything.”

David ruffles his hair and then he’s out the door, closing it behind himself.

Harry picks out his clothes for tonight, a grey shirt, jean shorts, and white converse, and then checks his notifications as he waits for Louis to get out of the shower.

The bathroom door opens ten minutes later, and with a freshly showered and dressed Louis comes an irresistible smell of expensive cologne that, for some reason, turns Harry on.

“Your turn.”

Harry replies to Niall’s messages and then disappears into the bathroom.

It turns out that Louis does indeed need about an hour to get his hair done (dry it, gel it, un-gel it, gel it back, comb it, ruffle it, etc.), but he’s finally done at a quarter to seven.

“Did your fringe really take fifty minutes on the clock?” Harry asks as they enter the elevator. “All you did was sweep it to the right in the end.”

“Oh, like you’re the fashion guru. Oh, look at me, I’m Harry Styles. I do my hair by shaking it out and then running my hand through it. I look so good.” Louis mockingly says, using a low voice.

“Midget.” Harry mutters under his breath.

“What did you just call me?”

The elevator dings and the doors open, revealing the elegant lobby.

“Shh, Van Gaal is saying something.” Harry shushes him, knowing that it just drives Louis mad.

The restaurant they have reservations at is just a few hundred meters away from their hotel, along the coastline with an amazing view of the ocean.

Harry ends up sitting next to Ander, right across from Louis, who is apparently ignoring him now because of the midget comment. He wasn’t wrong when he called him that though, since Louis _is_ the shortest one on the team.

Everyone orders something healthy (under Van Gaal’s and Gigg’s supervision), and then they start talking about (surprise) the Premier League.

Harry feels a bit weird when the food comes, since he’s the only one who has ordered pizza, while the rest of them eat salads or fish.

After dinner, they walk back to the hotel and are told that they’re going to meet up at six in the morning right by the beach for their daily morning run.

“So what do you want to do?” Louis asks him once they’re in their room.

“I have no idea.” Harry tells him. “All I know is that I’m not tired at all.”

“Well, it’s half past nine.”

“How about we go to the Santa Monica Pier? I’ve never been there but I’ve heard it’s great.”

“It would take about an hour to get there by bus.”

“So? I’m not tired, are you?”

Louis shakes his head. “Do you want to invite someone else?”

Harry thinks about it. “Ander? Maybe David?”

He doesn’t miss the face Louis makes when he hears ‘Ander’.

“Umm…how about no.”

“Alright then, just us two?”

Louis nods. “I’ll call a taxi.”

“A taxi? Won’t that be expensive?”

“I don’t think so. Come on, I’ll pay.”

“You sure?”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Yes I’m sure I won’t go bankrupt if I spend fifty dollars on a cab.”

“Fine. Let me change first, it’s really warm outside.”

Harry changes into a tank top, before they leave the room. They find a taxi right across the street, and the driver seems pretty excited when they tell him where they’re headed.

“You two here on vacation?” the driver asks, trying to make conversation.

“Not really.” Louis answers, taking out his phone.

Harry makes eye contact with the driver through the rearview mirror.

“So how long have you two been together?” the driver goes on, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

“We’re not together.” Louis jumps in, suddenly getting curious about what’s going on around him. “We’re here on a football cantonment.”

“You’re in football? The both of you?”

“Football. As in, with a round ball.”

“Soccer.” Harry says.

“Ah. Figured. You have british accents. I’d ask about the team you’re playing for, but I know shit about soccer.”

“It’s called football. You use your _foot_ to kick the _ball_.” Louis dryly tells the driver.

The driver doesn’t say anything else, and for the rest of the way there’s an eerie silence in the car, except for the radio.

When they arrive, Louis hands him a fifty-dollar bill and they both get out with a ‘thank you’. The pier isn’t as long as expected, and it looks like the fun just started, since there are people everywhere and the loud chatter covers up the sound of the waves entirely.

“If I don’t get a hamburger in me right now I’ll faint.”

“Didn’t we just have dinner?”

“Harry, if you think I’m going to spend one week in America only eating salads and exercising, then you’re terribly wrong.”

Harry spots a small restaurant called Pier Burger as they walk along the large wooden pier, so they get in line because apparently it’s closing soon and everyone wants to get something last minute.

Louis orders a two portions of large fries, a double Pier Burger for himself, and a regular fresh lemonade for Harry. They take everything to go because the chairs have already been put up on the tables and there’s a man sweeping in the corner.

They take a seat on the stairs right at the very end of the pier, and watching an elderly couple that just sits staring out at the dark ocean and a group of guys passing what looks like a joint between them, as they eat what Louis bought for the both of them.

“So, about earlier. I’m sorry for calling you a midget. I hope you didn’t get too offended.”

Louis turns his head to look at him, and Harry would say something about the mayonnaise that’s smeared on the corner of Louis’ mouth, but he’s interrupted.

“You know, I was a bit mad at first because I hate it when people comment on my height or my weight, but then I realized that this is coming from a barely legal overgrown manchild so I felt better about myself.”

Okay, now Harry definitely won’t inform him about the mayonnaise, and will let people think that Louis had sucked him off.

“Is this what you tell yourself so you can sleep better at night?” Harry asks him.

Louis shrugs. “Let’s just change the subject.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

Louis looks around and then points at the old couple. “How about those two over there who haven’t moved in like ten minutes?”

“She’s sitting with her head on his shoulder while they watch the ocean. It’s cute.”

“Yeah but it’s dark. You can barely see anything.”

“Maybe she just likes being close to him? And enjoys that?”

“They’re like, what? Seventy? Eighty almost? Do you really think their love lasted this long?”

Harry shrugs. “Looks that way.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“And why not? You’ve got proof right there.”

“I don’t know. I for example can’t imagine myself loving someone for so long.”

Harry frowns. “That’s a stupid allegation.”

“Why though?”

“Do you not believe in love or something?”

“Of course I do.” Louis says, now matching Harry’s expression. “I just don’t believe in everlasting love. ‘Love forever’. That’s a load of crap. Everyone gets bored at one point.”

“That’s not true.”

“How can you believe that though? Your parents are divorced.”

“I don’t really consider my parents an example for everlasting love.” Harry smiles. “But I do believe it exists. Not necessarily for me, but for others.”

“That’s a bit illogic.”

“Why?”

Louis folds the wrapper that the burger was in and places it in the box they were given. “Because you wish ‘eternal love’ or whatever but not to yourself.”

“I didn’t say I wished anyone anything. I just say I believe that _other_ people can have that, but not me.”

“And why not you?”

Harry licks his bottom lip.

“Because I’ve never met anyone to prove me wrong.”

Louis raises a brow at Harry’s statement. “Well you’re still eighteen. You haven’t even experienced ten percent of what’s out there.”

“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t know you were a wiseass _and_ a mathematician.

“Can you not be sarcastic for once?”

“Said Louis _Sarcasm_ Tomlinson.”

They finish their drinks and fries, before Louis pulls a cigarette pack out of his pocket and lights one up.

“Want one?”

“Sure.”

Harry puts a fag into his mouth and Louis lights it for him, before he takes a long drag.

After they finish their cigarettes, Louis takes out a pack of gum and hands him a piece.

“I hate cigarette breath.” Louis tells him.

“Can you really smell me? You’re not even that close.”

Louis snarls. “Oh _God_. You really _are_ oblivious you idiot.”

“Why?”

“C’mere.”

Harry doesn’t get to register his words as he’s pulled in towards Louis and now they’re kissing.

As the kiss gets deeper, Louis tilts his head further to the right and wraps an arm around Harry’s waist, pulling him closer.

By the time Louis’ hands come up to Harry’s hair, the kiss is way too heated if anyone were to look at them, so Harry pulls back.

“We should uh…go. I think. If you want to be able to wake up tomorrow. Also, I can’t believe I’m putting a stop to this.”

“No, you’re right. We should head back.”

They stop at a non-stop on their way back, where they buy a bottle of water and some crisps, after which they hail a cab.

It’s past midnight when they enter the room, and neither of them bothers showering because they’re just too tired.

“Thank you for uh…tonight.” Harry says as they lay in bed under the covers, with a good two inches between their bodies.

“Well, it was my idea so there’s nothing to thank me for.”

“Yeah but you paid so…”

“So I did it because I wanted to. Now c’mon, let’s try and get at least a few hours of sleep because _I_ have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“About that…do I need to come along?”

Louis shuffles so he’s laying on his side, facing Harry. “I don’t think so. This is more of a holiday for you innit? You’re lucky your father has connections.”

Harry pouts. “Now I feel bad.”

“Oh come on, there’s no reason for you to feel bad about it. I’d take advantage of this week as much as I could if I were you.”

“By doing what?”

“Going out, relaxing, drinking…I mean, it’s all inclusive for fuck’s sake!”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Good.” Louis says, pulling the blanket down to their chests because it’s getting a bit warm. “Now sleep.”

Harry nods, closing his eyes, and falls asleep wondering whether what just happened could be called a date.

-

When Harry wakes up a few hours later, the clock shows 9:10am and Louis is nowhere to be found. There is, however, a text on his phone from him telling Harry that they’re out for their early morning beach run and that they’re going to be back after they have breakfast at ten.

Harry gets dressed in his swim trunks and a thin shirt after showering, and rummages through the closet for a pair of red converse he could’ve sworn he brought along. He eventually finds them so he takes his phone and the keycard before he’s off towards the elevator so he can still catch breakfast before it’s over.

After breakfast, he gets a beach towel from the lobby and goes outside to lounge by the pool. It’s disturbingly similar to what he would have done at home, including the free, all inclusive Mojitos he gets from the cute guy that keeps asking him if he wants anything from the bar.

He’s got blonde hair and blue eyes that remind him of someone, and looks really fit, so of course Harry will flirt with him until James will give him either a gay or a straight vibe.

By the time some players from the team come down at the pool it’s way past twelve, and the bar guy is sitting on the lounger opposite of Harry, way too interested in what Harry tells him about life in England and why he’s here, although he can’t really form proper words due to the ridiculous amount of drinks he’s consumed in the past two hours.

“Oi oi.” He hears that familiar voice behind him, and doesn’t even have to turn his head to know that Louis is coming towards him.

Louis is dressed in a pair of black swim trunks and nothing else, so Harry gulps and smiles at the bartender, who gets up when Louis looks at him with a raised brow.

“I never got your name?” Harry smiles a little loopy.

“It’s James. And you are?”

“Harry.”

“Harry.” James repeats.

“And I’m a guest here.” Louis interrupts them as he sets his towel on the lounger and sits down. “Who desperately wants a cocktail that contains Vodka.”

James looks at Louis’ wrist to make sure he’s an adult that paid for the all-inclusive feature, before he’s off towards the bar.

“So who was that?”

“James. The cute guy who serves me Mojitos.” Harry giggles.

“How many Mojitos exactly?”

“Four…teen? I _think_.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“No, no. _James._ ”

Louis rolls his eyes and turns on his stomach. “Can you put sun lotion on my back so I won’t get burnt?”

“Oooh. I don’t think-okay.”

Harry struggles to get up from the lounger, and when he eventually manages, he straddles the back of Louis thighs. Harry squirts lotion into his palm and then giggles as he rubs it over his back.

“What now?” Louis asks, his back muscles flexing.

“I just _squirted_ some lotion in my palms.”

“Oh my _God_.”

“You’re really religious today.”

“And you’re incredibly drunk even though it’s noon.”

“Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.”

Louis laughs, his thighs vibrating against Harry’s. “I don’t think I have to tell anyone in order for them to notice.”

James brings Louis’ drink and sets it down on the table between their loungers.

“Hey, are there any clubs around here? Or anywhere we could go out and like…club?” Harry asks, looking up at James.

“Uh…well my friends and I are going to this club called Bogies later tonight if you want to come?”

“The team was thinking of going there too.” Louis says, reminding Harry that he’s still there.

“What about practice tomorrow?”

“We’ve already talked to Van Gaal and he says we have every other day off from running.”

“What time do you leave?” Harry asks.

“We’ve talked to the hotel manager and arranged for a bus to take us and other willing guests there, and then bring us back around five when it closes. We leave at ten.”

“That’s in how many hours?”

James laughs. “Nine.”

“Alright. Great. Can’t wait.”

“You should probably take a nap and get the alcohol out of your system before we go.” Louis tells him once James leaves.

“Gay vibe.” Harry mutters, ignoring Louis completely as he gets off of him and on his own lounger.

“What?”

“James. He’s definitely giving off a gay vibe.”

“So?”

Harry ignores him as he closes his eyes.

-

“Harry. Harold.”

Harry’s eyes open slowly, and they focus in on David looking down at him.

“What?”

“The pool is closing soon.”

“Wha-what? How long have I been asleep?”

“About…seven hours? You were really out of it man.”

“Shit. What time is it?”

“Half past eight. Time for dinner with the team. C’mon, we’re eating on this terrace right by the beach. Just put a shirt on.”

“Mind if I skip this one?”

“You’re coming to the club later, right?”

Harry nods and David smiles, before he’s off towards the small path that leads to the beach.

Once Harry gets inside his room, he collapses on the bed and sets his phone to wake him up in half an hour so he can shower and pick out something to wear.

By the time he’s out of the shower, it’s way past nine and Louis back in the room, charging his phone and texting at the same time.

“Finally, _God._ Can’t you toss off some other time?”

“I didn’t. I don’t think I’ll need to do it tonight though.” Harry tells him, even though he’s not drunk anymore.

Louis looks at him weirdly, but doesn’t say anything as he walks in the bathroom with his clothes.

Harry blow-dries his hair while Louis showers, and then talks to Niall and Barbara on WhatsApp to let them know about James and put them up to date with Louis.

 **Harry:** so I think I’m going to hook up with James tonght

 **Harry:** not Louis

 **Niall:** y not louis??

 **Harry:** idk

 **Harry:** I just have this feeling

 **Barbara:** u stupid

They talk about Uni starting in a month, and how they’re going to see each other even if they attend different ones.

“You ready?” Louis asks fifteen minutes later, once he’s finished arranging his hair and spraying half a ton of cologne on himself.

“Yes. If I could only breathe, it would be great.”

Louis checks his pockets for his cigarette pack, money, and phone, before he follows Harry out the door.

They meet the guys who wanted to attend down by the lobby, and the receptionist announces that the bus is already outside, waiting for them.

Harry spots James when he gets on the bus, and goes to sit down next to him, ignoring Louis who sits down behind him. David takes the seat next to him though, and for the rest of the ride, Harry tries to flirt with James who told him that he broke up with his boyfriend (!!) two weeks ago and isn’t looking for anything serious, while also listening to the hushed conversation David and Louis are having.

There’s a seemingly short line at the entrance, so they probably won’t have to stand very long.

“Everyone here’s over twenty-one right?” James asks, looking around right before the bus stops.

Harry’s eyes widen. “I’m eighteen.”

“Security is very strict here, I’m not sure how you’ll be able to get in.” James says, biting his lip as they exit the bus.

“Uh…what should I do then?”

“Maybe I can talk to the bouncer. I know the manager but I’m not sure she’s here tonight.”

They get in line, and everyone has their ID’s ready except of Harry.

“What if I bribe him?” Harry asks as they get closer.

“I’m not sure if it works. Never tried it.”

“So you’re twenty-one?”

“Yeah, had my birthday in June.”

“You look younger though.”

James smiles. “That’s why I always carry my ID with me.”

Harry then greets all of his friends and it turns out that they’re all really nice and legal to drink, which, again, makes him feel like the baby of the group.

“So…have you ever had a boyfriend?” James asks when the line eventually stops because of a mishap at the entrance. They’re apparently full at the moment, so it may be a while until they can get in.

Louis and a couple of James’ friends sit down on the curb to smoke.

“Yeah, when I was younger. I don’t anymore.”

“So he’s not your boyfriend?”

James points in Louis’ direction.

“What? Oh no. Not at all. Not even close.”

“He seemed jealous earlier when you sat down next to me. And at the pool.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. He’s not that important.”

“Oh, he isn’t?” James smirks.

Harry shakes his head. “Nope.”

“Well then you wouldn’t mind me doing this?”

James leans in and presses their lips together. Before he can pull away though, Harry responds by pulling him in by the neck. Their kiss turns heated in no time when James’ hands travel down his back and grip into his arse, pulling Harry flushed against his chest.

His hands then travel to the back of Harry’s thighs, and soon James is lifting him up, pinning him against a lamppost.

“Jesus, look at James going at it!” one of his friends (Kurt? Kendall?) exclaims, which has everyone within a hundred meter radius look at them.

The line suddenly moves, and Louis is back, so Harry lets go of James and straightens his shirt out.

“What if they don’t let me in?”

“Then I’ll take you somewhere else. The others can have their own fun.” James tells him with a wink.

Harry turns his head and sees his own guys entering one by one after they show the bouncer their ID’s. Louis is the last one, and he shakes the bouncer’s hand before he whispers something in his ear and enters.

James and Harry are next. The bouncer looks at James’ ID, then at Harry’s face expectantly.

“ID?”

“Uh-“

“Next!”

Harry looks at James confused, but the older guy just pulls him along, towards the entrance.

“What just happened?”

“I don’t know, but next means we can go in.”

The club is huge, and the lights are blinding, but they find two booths next to each other and get in. A waitress comes over and tells them that they need to get at least a $50 bottle per booth, so they get Ciroc and Rum with coke and berry juice, while the football players that are sitting right next to them get two proper Vodka bottles with tonic water.

“They can hold their alcohol better than me.” Harry explains to James when the two Vodka bottles arrive.

“You’re not even legal!” James laughs, burying his nose into Harry’s neck.

“I am in England!”

Harry pours himself a Rum and Coke first, and doesn’t even get to drink half of it when James asks him to come dance.

A David Guetta song starts playing and everyone is singing along, so Harry nods and follows him out on the dancefloor.

He’s not sure how long they’ve been dancing for, all he knows is that his second glass is empty now and James lips are on his neck, hands on his crotch, rubbing up and down. For some reason though, he opens his eyes and looks around until he sees Louis in his booth, chatting up a blonde girl with big boobs and a pretty smile.

Harry frowns and is about to look away so he can focus on James, but that’s when Louis turns his head and looks right at him with a hazy expression on his face. Good, so they’re both at least tipsy. Well, Louis might be a bit drunk since his hand is resting on her thigh and now he’s whispering something in her ear, before he fills another glass for himself.

“I think I’m…I’m going to go to the bathroom really quick okay?”

James nods and watches Harry leave.

When he enters the bathroom, he walks right up to the mirror and washes his face with cold water.

_What the fuck is wrong with me? Why isn’t James doing anything for me?_

He knows the answer though. The answer has blue eyes and is currently talking to a blonde girl. Harry suddenly wants to go home and sleep.

Just as he’s about to exit the bathroom, Louis comes in, almost tripping over his own feet.

“Oops.” Harry says, catching him by the arm.

“Hi. Harry. Hey.”

“Hi.”

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t know. I’m a bit tipsy and I feel like I want to go home.”

“You want to leave? It’s only midnight.”

“I know.”

Louis stares at him for a moment before he suddenly pulls him in by his collar, and then pushes him against the sink. Harry melts right into the kiss, hands coming down to Louis’ hips.

“I’ve been waiting all fucking day to do that, but you’re too busy with that blonde douchebag.” Louis breathes into his mouth.

“He’s not a douchebag…” Harry trails off, but if it actually, Louis can call James anything he wants and it would be okay with Harry.

“Want to leave?” Louis continues, hand trailing down Harry’s torso and stopping on his crotch so it cups Harry’s cock through his jeans.

“It would be rude.”

_Would it, though?_

_Louis >everyone else_

Louis squeezes.

“Alright.” Harry agrees, biting down Louis’ bottom lip.

“Great. Let’s go.”

“What about James though?”

Louis grips into Harry’s wrist and pulls him along.

“You’ll see him tomorrow.” He says as soon as they’re out of the club and motioning for a cab. They get in the first one that stops, and Louis immediately straddles him when it starts moving.

“How did you get me in the club?” Harry asks between chaste kisses.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you had something to do with it. You said something to the bouncer.”

“Oh.” Louis says, smirking against Harry’s lips. “I gave him a Ben Franklin and told him to let you in without checking your ID.”

“You gave him a hundred dollars?”

“I owed you from that time you carried me up the stairs, remember?”

“Wha-I don’t remember. I think.”

“You’re too young.” Louis whispers and starts kissing his ear, and then down his neck.

“Then what are we doing?” Harry asks, suddenly very aware of himself.

“What _are_ we doing?”

“I asked first.”

“We’re just having fun.”

“We are, aren’t we? And besides, what happens in Malibu stays in Malibu right?” Louis says before he leans in for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> ! Next update will be on November 3rd, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	11. The one with the list

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the two day wait, but I hope you like it ;)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> Also, thank you to my beta for putting up with me x
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Louis’ kisses are frantic and rushed, and Harry can barely keep up with them. His hands all over Louis; on his back, under his shirt, and in his hair.

The erection Harry’s currently sporting is starting to get really uncomfortable against his jeans, so he tries to adjust Louis on his lap.

“I’m so turned on right now, you have no idea.” Louis whispers into his ear, and then bites his earlobe to add effect.

“Stop it.” Harry moans, and tries to pull his head away from Louis’ wandering tongue, but the footballer can’t be bothered. His hand wanders down Harry’s chest and stops on his growing erection, before he starts rubbing his hand up against it.

“Or what?”

“Or I’m going to come right here.”

Louis mischievously grins. “That would be so hot.”

Harry can’t believe this is happening; yet here they are, in a taxi on their way back to the hotel.

“Can’t you wait like…fifteen more minutes?” Harry asks, voice already low and raspy because he can’t control it when he’s around a horny Louis.

“Fifteen more minutes? Are you crazy? I’d suck you off right this second.” Louis says, and Harry can literally _see_ the idea as it comes to him. “Can I?”

“Wha-are you serious?”

Louis turns his head to look at the driver. “Yeah.”

Harry’s in awe and can only watch as Louis kneels down before him and slowly unzips his jeans. He’s trying to do it as silently as possible so the driver wont’ lose focus, but if the undressing won’t do any noise, Harry sure as hell will.

“Fucking hell.” He mutters, almost inaudible, as Louis takes his cock out and gives it a long lick.

The driver lifts his eyes up and makes eye contact with Harry through the rearview mirror, before setting his eyes back on the road.

Louis apparently doesn’t give a shit about whether they get caught or not, judging by the way he goes down on him, over and over again, sucking and licking like his life depends on it.

Harry runs his hands through Louis’ hair, and leaves them there to guide him through it because he’s going way too fast and Harry doesn’t want to come in less than two minutes because that would really be embarrassing.

“Stop.” He eventually says and literally pulls Louis’ head away. It feels like a crime against nature but it needed to be done.

First, because Harry is already starting to recognize the neighborhood, which means they’re two minutes away from the hotel and he doesn’t want the driver to see them. Second, because he’s way too close to coming and messing up the seats would be a shame. Third…well, because he knows he won’t be able to be quiet. Sue him.

Louis makes a face but sits back next to him and wipes his mouth as Harry tucks himself back in. When the cab stops, Louis pays for it and then almost pushes Harry out of it.

“I can’t-I can’t go in there this way.” Harry says, looking down at his obvious erection. Well, through his jeans it looks like a semi but it’s still obvious.

“Come on, just follow my lead and do NOT make eye contact with anyone.” Louis tells him, before he grips into his hand.

He guides the both of them towards the elevators and doesn’t even wait for the doors to close so he can push Harry against the wall and snog him senseless.

By the time they’re on their level, Harry’s jeans are unzipped once again and he’s still being pushed against the wall.

“We should-probably go inside-“

“I’d love to get inside of _you_.” Louis whispers and grips into the back of Harry’s thighs to lift him up. Harry obliges, almost unconscious of what’s going on because it’s definitely way too much to handle, and wraps his arms around Louis’ neck.

The door to their room is opened by Louis, who blindly tried to do so with the card, while at the same time keeping Harry up against him.

He’s thrown on the bed as soon as the door shuts, and doesn’t even get the time to properly get his jeans off because Louis is on him once again, mouthing down his neck while playing with his cock through his briefs.

“Off.” Louis instructs and pulls at Harry’s top, trying to get it off of him.

Harry sits up and takes off his shirt so he’s only left in his underwear.

Louis takes a moment to stare him up and down; his chest, his flexing muscles as he’s breathing way too hard, and the shiny, ravished lips from all the kissing.

“You’re so fucking hot.” Louis breathes and he’s on Harry once again, kissing him and letting his hands wander everywhere. It’s probably from the alcohol, because Harry knows for a fact that Louis wouldn’t be this affectionate and touchy if he were sober.

“Your turn to take your clothes off.”

Louis smirks and pecks him once more, before he kneels so he’s right over Harry’s thighs, and takes off his tank top. Then, he struggles to pull his jeans off while also maintaining an attractive pose, but fails miserably when he falls on his ass and hits Harry in the face with his legs.

“Shit, sorry.” He apologizes and finally throws his jeans somewhere in the room.

“It’s fine, just…c’mere.”

Louis happily obliges and straddles Harry, who’s already thinking ahead.

“Do you uh-do you have a condom? And like, lube?”

He smiles against the younger boys’ lips. “Of course I do.” Then, he leans over to the nightstand and opens the second drawer, out of which he pulls out a condom and a small bottle of lube.

“You knew this was going to happen?” Harry asks.

“No you idiot. I knew I was going to jerk off when I got the time and the condom is just for security measures. You know, in case I get laid.”

“In case you get laid?”

“Well, it’s happening right now isn’t it?” Louis says, and then proceeds to shut him up the best way he knows how.

They kiss for several more minutes; just the right balance between hurried and sluggish, dirty and languid.

“So you do you want to fuck me, or to get fucked?” Louis eventually asks, making Harry’s heart almost stop.

“Well…uh…I like both. So uh-whatever you want. Fuck.”

Louis smiles. “I’d rather do the fucking this time.”

“ _This_ time? Does that mean there’s going to be a _next_ time?”

Louis doesn’t answer, and Harry doesn’t bother him about it because it’s going to happen right _now_ , which is more than he could’ve asked for.

“Open your legs.” Louis tells him and gets off of him so he can lay down next to him, and be able to kiss him at the same time he’s fingering him.

Harry does as asked, and watches him with hooded eyes as he lubes up his fingers and trails them down his belly until he gets to his hole.

“You’re so soft.” Louis mumbles against his lips, before pecking them and pushing his middle finger in.

Harry lets out a soft moan and grips into the sheets in order to keep his hips from bucking off the bed.

“I’ve never done this before.” Louis admits as he starts to move his finger in and out.

“Done what?”

“Finger a guy.”

Harry shakes his head. “It’s just like fingering a girl, but…better.”

Louis smiles and starts kissing his neck while picking up the pace of his finger. Harry’s legs are already trembling because Louis sometimes gets his prostate, and as if just one finger isn’t enough, there’s a second one being pushed in before Louis starts scissoring them.

“You like that baby?”

Harry bites his lips at the pet name and tries to keep himself calm because Louis Tomlinson’s fingers are inside of him.

“You think you can take three?”

“N-two are enough. I think.”

Louis scissors him for a bit longer and then starts fucking him with his fingers, up to the point where Harry warns him that he’ll come if he doesn’t stop soon.

“I want you to come from my cock.” Louis hotly says into his ear, before he pulls his fingers out and reaches out for the condom.

Harry’s knees go weak as he watches Louis get between his legs again and roll the condom down his erection. Then he squirts some lube into his palm and lines himself up with Harry’s hole.

“If it hurts, just tell me to stop okay?”

Harry nods. “I’ve done this before. I’ll be fine.”

Louis rolls his eyes and places both his hands on either side of Harry’s head, before he pushes in and lovers himself down so their chests are touching and they’re kissing.

The only sound in the room is Harry’s long, deep whimper as Louis fills him up, one inch at a time.

“You alright?”

Harry gives a weak nod and brings one hand up to Louis’ hair to press their open mouths together.

Eventually, Louis slowly starts thrusting in and out of him, sometimes pulling his head away and making eye contact just to make sure Harry’s okay.

And while it’s really nice and sweet, Harry would pretty much love it if Louis were a bit rougher.

“Harder.” Is the only thing that comes out of his mouth as he scratches down Louis’ back for emphasis.

“You want me to fuck you harder? Is that what you want? For me to be rough?”

 _Jesus Christ_ , as if the fact that Louis fucking him wasn’t enough. So all Harry can do is give a weak nod and hope that he doesn’t come too soon and embarrass himself.

Louis then speeds up his thrust and starts going faster, harder into Harry. Everything is just way too much to handle and Harry thinks he may just come untouched.

His nails are digging into Louis’ back and his left calve is cramping up but he can’t be too bothered about it because he’s on the verge of a pretty amazing orgasm that he wants to last as long as possible.

At one point, Louis is thrusting just right so his head hits Harry’s prostate over and over again, and touching his cock to relieve the built-up friction becomes impossible.

“Lou-fuck. I’m going to come.”

“Stop touching yourself.” Louis grunts into his ear right before biting it. Harry obliges immediately and puts the hand he used to grip his cock with into Louis’ hair, tugging at it.

“If you mess up my hair I swear to God!”

“I think we’ve got-we’ve got more important issues at hand.”

“Don’t try to make a pun when I’ve got my cock buried inside your ass.”

Harry bites his lip, clenches his eyes shut, and arches off the bed as he comes, loudly. After that, things are basically just a blur, with concrete snippets of Louis fucking him even harder, probably chasing his own climax.

It’s pretty unfortunate that Louis keeps jabbing at his prostate when he’s way too sensitive, because Harry can’t contain himself so he just licks and bites at Louis’ neck, whispering things he thinks sound hot into it.

“Fuck you can’t just-ooh.”

And Louis is coming, right into the condom, and it’s so thorough Harry can _feel_ it. After a few more slow thrusts, Louis completely stops and flops on top of him, breathing heavily into his ear.

They stay like that for a few moments; limbs tangled and out of breath, until Louis finally gets the self-determination he needs to pull out and roll off of him.

“Was it okay?” Harry asks, legs still a bit shaky as he turns his head to look at him.

Louis lets out a breath, smiling. “Yeah. For you?”

“More than.”

“I can’t believe we waited so long to do this.”

“Hey. I’ve got standards okay?”

“So you don’t put out in less than two months?”

Harry snorts. “Depends on the guy.”

“You’re bruising my ego here.”

“Oh come off it, your ego is taller than you.”

Louis turns his head so they’re looking at each other now. “I really don’t appreciate the height jokes you know. If you want to see my cock again, you should probably stop.”

Harry raises his hands up in mock defense. “Oh dear lord, please don’t punish me this way!”

“Okay now you’re getting cocky.” Louis says and sits up from the bed so he can climb down and throw the condom in the trash.

He says something, but Harry’s too busy staring at his round ass to care.

“Hello, eyes are up here?” Louis interrupts him from his obvious staring as he turns around

“Yeah?”

“Still up here.”

“Right.” Harry looks up to meet his eyes.

“I’m gonna take a shower. Wanna join me?”

Harry shakes his head. “I think it’s going to take a few more minutes.”

“Seriously? Now you’re just trying to make up for the fact that you called me little.”

“I said no such thing.”

Louis rolls his eyes and then smiles, before he walks over to the bathroom and closes the door.

Harry waits until the shower is running to get out of bed and walk over to his suitcase. He can still feel faint traces of Louis’ touches all over his body, and it’s a bit scary because of how they make him feel and the way it makes him shiver all over.

He finds the familiar list tucked into one of the pockets and pulls it out.

**_Why Louis may want me or I could just be insane (a list by Harry Styles)_ **

Right under _invited me to lad’s night_ , he writes _had sex with me and said it was OKAY ~~-what does that mean??~~_ ~~~~

He hears the shower turn off so he stuffs the paper back into his suitcase and shoves it back into its place, before he jumps on the bed and tries to act natural by holding his phone just as Louis comes out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist.

While Louis gets dressed into a pair of shorts and goes out on the balcony for a smoke, Harry opens up his groupchat.

 **Harry:** so we had sex

It takes less than five seconds for Barbara to answer.

 **Barbara:** WHHAATATATATAHFJAKFKJGRSLKJRGS

 **Harry:** Barb

 **Barbara:** kJKHRSLGSGGJTLGLLLDRUHGBB

 **Barbara:** how was it though?

 **Harry:** good

 **Harry:** he said he liked it :)

 **Niall:** you go bro!

 **Barbara:** so who tops?

 **Harry:** he did this time

 **Niall:** FUCK

 **Barbara:** Niall you owe me 10 quid! Ahahha

 **Niall:** wait

 **Niall:** this time??

 **Niall:** does that mean it’s going to happen again?

 **Harry:** :)

 **Barbara:** how long did it last??

 **Harry:** idk

 **Harry:** I have to go

 **Harry:** talk to u guys tomorrow

 **Harry:** btw

 **Harry:** isn’t it like

 **Harry:** really early in Manchester?

 **Barbara:** it’s 6am

 **Harry:** then why aren’t u sleeping?

 **Barbara:** early flight to paris

 **Harry:** ur going to paris?

 **Harry:** oooh I remember now

 **Niall:** and I just drank a red bull before bed

 **Niall:** so

Harry closes his phone and goes to the bathroom to shower.

When he comes back, Louis is already in bed, also texting someone and Harry doesn’t get the chance to see who it is or what they’re talking about because Louis locks his phone and looks up at him.

“Gossiping about me?” Harry jokes, although there is some curiosity behind his words.

“Don’t flatter yourself babe.”

Harry climbs over Louis to get on his side of the bed, and then tries to pull the blanket on his side too.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Uh?” Harry says, pulling at the blanket again. “Trying to keep myself warm? Stop hoarding the blanket all to yourself.”

“I guess you’ll just have to cuddle me so the blanket can be enough.” Louis says and shuffles closer, already throwing his limbs over Harry’s torso and nuzzling his head into his chest.

“Is this sort of a pick up line to get me into cuddling you?”

“You know what? Nevermind?”

Harry grabs a hold of his arm just as he moves away, and pulls Louis back against him.

“Stop playing the victim here.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Harry puts an arm around Louis and pulls him as close as he possibly can, breathing in the smell of his shampoo.

“Are you smelling my hair?”

“Are you clingy after sex?” Harry retorts.

“Go to sleep Harold.”

And Harry does, with a small smile hidden into Louis’ hair.

-

“Stop doing your hair in the bathroom! I need to wee really badly!” Harry yells, banging his fist against the door.

“Then you’ll just have to _wait_!” Louis screams back, before the door opens and he exits with a comb stuck into his hair.

It’s half past six and they’re supposed to meet the whole team in five minutes in the lobby so they can go to dinner in Santa Monica.

Harry slams the door shut behind him and pees really quickly before he starts working on his own hair right after pulling a shirt on.

When he comes out, Louis is at the door with an empty expression on his face.

“You alright?”

“Sure. You ready?”

There’s something wrong. Louis’s usually more upbeat and cheered up when he knows they’re going out to eat.

“You okay?”

“Mhm. Let’s go or we’ll be late.”

Okay, now there’s definitely something wrong. He doesn’t get to ask about it though because the next second Louis is already out the door.

Harry tries to make eye contact all through dinner, but it’s a bit complicated with Louis sitting all the way across the long table and not even sparing a look at him. Not even _once_.

When they eventually do make eye contact at the end when Van Gaal asks for the bill, Harry tries to throw him a questioning look, but Louis turns his head way too quickly.

He doesn’t catch him alone for the rest of the night because he doesn’t come back to their room, or the next day because he’s occupied with team activities.

Harry eventually manages to corner him on Thursday morning, on their last day in Malibu, when they’re chilling at the pool and De Gea leaves to go to the bathroom.

“Hey. What’s going on? Why are you avoiding me? Are you mad? Or is it because we had sex?” Harry straightforwardly asks, sitting down on his lounger so Louis has no way out.

Louis looks up at him. “Me? Nothing. Everything’s fine.” “That’s exactly what a mad person would say.”

“Harry, I’m fine. What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that you haven’t said a word to me in literally three days, ever since we had sex.”

“No, it was a day after that.”

“So you _do_ have a problem.”

“Harry, it’s nothing. Just leave it.”

“I won’t leave it! The whole situation is so confusing! At least tell me what I did.”

Louis stands up. “You did nothing. It’s me, okay?”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” Harry yells after him, and ends up watching him leave.

“Que pason?” David asks and sits down on his own lounger.

“Nothing.”

“Not you too.”

Harry ignores him because he’s angry and goes back to his place. He’s not planning on getting up from the lounger until they have to get ready for their last dinner.

That time comes sooner than expected, so Harry’s forced to gather his things and make his way back to his and Louis’ room to take a shower and get dressed.

When he gets to the room, Louis is nowhere to be found, but something catches his attention. His stomach drops to the floor when he sees the list he made in the middle of the bed, even though he’s 100% sure he put it into his suitcase a couple of days before.

_Fuck_

_No wonder Louis is acting weird_

_He saw the list_

_O fuck_

_Fuck fuck fuck_

He showers and dresses up quickly because he’s already late, and makes a plan on how to explain everything to Louis after dinner.

Once again, Louis chooses the farthest seat from Harry’s, but this time Harry isn’t bothered. He has a plan. Well, sort of a plan. It only entails him grabbing Louis by the arm and dragging him away to a secluded place when they get to the hotel to explain everything. The hard part is the explaining of course, and that’s also the part Harry hasn’t figured out yet.

As soon as they get back to the hotel, Harry is quick to grab Louis’ arm and pull him around the corner so no one notices them being gone.

“What the f-what are you doing? Let go of me.”

“No.”

“Let go of me arm.”

“Or else what?”

“I’ll scream.”

“Just try.” Harry says. His voice comes out more threatening than intended.

Louis tries pulling away but Harry’s had enough of his cold demeanor so he wraps an arm around his waist and throws him over his shoulder, before he starts walking towards the beach.

“This is manhandling and kidnapping!” Louis yells as Harry continues to walk, not even phased at all, towards the beach

“You can go to jail because of this!” he adds, punching Harry’s lower back.

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Because I _will_ sure for assault!”

“Go ahead and scream. Really. If you want me to let you go then just scream and I will.”

Louis goes quiet, so Harry stops at one of the hotel’s loungers that are sitting in the sand and puts him down. Louis stares at him with a hard expression, and places his hands on his hips.

“Go ahead.”

“Me? How about _you_ go ahead. Tell me why you’ve been acting like a little shit towards me for the past few days.”

“I think you know.”

“Enlighten me.” Harry says, trying to seem like he’s not nervous about this at all.

“The list? I found it in your suitcase.”

“Why were you snooping through my suitcase? I can sue you for invading my privacy, if you still want to take things to court.”

It’s a fail attempt at making a joke to enlighten the mood.

“I was looking for a shirt to wear because none of mine matched the pants I wanted to wear to dinner that night.”

“So?”

“So, I found the list.” Louis simply says and crosses his arms.

“And why did you read it?” “Yeah, because you wouldn’t have done the same.”

“I wouldn’t have! I know what personal boundaries are.”

“If you would’ve found a list that had why Harry may want me or could just be insane written on top of it in huge block letters, wouldn’t you be the least bit curious?”

Harry has to give him that.

“Alright. But I still don’t see the point. Why would you be so mad about the list? Is it really that bad that I have a crush on you? Are you that disgusted by me?”

Louis lets out a frustrated groan. “You’re so fucking stupid, I swear to God.”

“Still me!”

“Yeah, still you!” Louis says, making a short pause. “I stopped talking to you because I wanted to clear my head and because I was scared, okay?”

“Scared of what? Of _me_? Because I’m desperate or what?”

“No, you fuckin’ idiot! Scared because the things you wrote on the list were true!”

Harry blinks for a few seconds, trying to process Louis’ words.

“Um, what? As in-“

“As in, I want you and I’m also insane.”

“So what’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with admitting you like someone?” “Because it just _is_.” Louis says, running a hand through his hair. “You’re young.”

Harry rolls his eyes. “We’ve been over this.”

“Yeah but I still feel so guilty about it. Like I’d be taking advantage of you.”

“But you’re _not_. I’m legal and I _know_ I want this, so what’s so fucking wrong about it?”

Louis shrugs. “You deserve to be with someone who shares the same interests as you and who can treat you right and…who can be there when you need them.”

“I’m not asking you to _be_ with me, I’m just asking you not to give me a cold shoulder.”

“So you don’t want me to be with you?” Louis asks.

“That’s not what-I don’t know what I want.” Harry gulps. “I just want _you_. As in, as a friend. More than a friend. I don’t know. I like you.”

“See? That’s the problem right there.”

“What?!” Harry exclaims, getting tired of the discussion.

“I fee-I want the same thing, but it’s way too complicated. We wouldn’t work like that.”

“Can’t we just take it slow? See where it goes?”

Louis contemplates it for a moment. “Yeah. I’d like that. But you know Van Gaal can’t find out.”

Harry frowns and steps closer, heart beating faster.

“Why not?”

“Because he’d cut me. He doesn’t want any drama during Premier League season-“

“But that’s like…ten months.”

“I think it’s convenient.”

Harry looks down at his feet. “Why?”

“Because if we, like, hypothetically get together and eventually last that long, then we can come out because it’s a serious thing.”

Harry tries not to let his disappointment show, so he smiles instead. “You’re right. Alright.”

“So you’re in?”

“In what? You?” He tries, smiling at his own lame joke.

“Soon.” Louis smirks, stepping closer and placing a hand on the back of his head. “I mean, are you in with the whole ‘taking it slow’ thing?”

Harry nods. “Yeah. Why not?”

Louis smiles and closes the distance between their lips.

-

They ended up just cuddling to sleep last night because they have an early flight that leaves at nine in the morning, so they have to be up at six.

Harry can’t contain his smile for the entire plane ride, and tries to be as opaque as possible, keeping the staring and smiling on the down low. And it’s hard, because Louis is right next to him, with his perfect looks and funny jokes and secret kisses when no one is looking.

They touch down in Manchester at two in the morning, and surprisingly, his father sends him a text that he’s on his way to the airport to pick him up.

“Are there paps waiting for us at the arrivals?” Louis asks Van Gaal as they ride the shuttle from the plane to the airport.

“Not to my knowledge.”

After everyone has their luggage, they start walking towards the arrivals section, and Harry feels a hand on his arm so he stops and turns his head.

Louis watches him for a moment, before he looks behind him to make sure everyone is a good few steps ahead.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asks.

“Nothing.” Louis stands up on his tiptoes and kisses him quickly. “Just wanted to do this.”

Harry smiles. “You sure you’re okay?” he jokes.

“Yeah you idiot.”

“Let’s not start with the roasting sessions right now. I’m tired.”

“You need me to drive you home?”

Harry shakes his head and steps away from Louis as they pick up their pace.

“My dad’s here.”

“Oh. Alright. Text me when you wake up?”

Harry makes eye contact with his father. “Sure. Bye.”

“Bye babe.”

He tries to ignore the butterflies in his stomach as he walks over to his father. It’s nothing. Right.

As soon as he gets home, he collapses on his bed face-first, and doesn’t move until twelve hours later around noon, when he’s woken up by a loud bang.

He opens his eyes, only to see Niall barging into his room holding a stack of what looks like to be the same magazine that they drop on the bed.

“What’s going on? I’m trying to sleep.”

“It’s three in the afternoon and we’ve got a bit of a problem.” Niall tells him, shoving a magazine right under his face.

On the cover, there’s a blurry picture of two people kissing, that Harry finds incredibly familiar.

And then, in huge block letters: **_LOUIS TOMLINSON: FIRST MANCHESTER UNITED PLAYER IN HISTORY TO COME OUT? PAGE 3_**

“That’s me.” Harry says, as soon as he flips to page three. Well, it’s a blurry picture of him and Louis kissing, but anyone who knows Harry would probably recognize it’s him by his posture and hair.

He looks up at Niall.

“Well, this _is_ a bit of a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> So I've officially decided that the story will have 16 chapters that I already have planned out, so updating them on the planned dates you can [view here](http://www.theboyfriendstagram.com/post/123470750335/bring-your-body-baby-i-could-bring-you-fame) will be easy :)
> 
> Also, I apologize if there is actually a gay football player at Manchester United, but I've googled it and couldn't find anything?
> 
> ! Next update will be on November 14th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	12. The one with the epiphany

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the two day wait, but I hope you like it ;)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D
> 
> Thank you to [Anna](http://redphonebooth3.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing for me :)
> 
> I'd also like to mention the fact that I don't really know much about soccer/football, so the way a game goes down might not be actually accurate. I only know what I've read on Wikipedia and from what I've seen at Louis' games.
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Harry reads through the article quickly, but it’s to no good. The words just fly past him, because he’s too focused on what other people will say.

“They’ve been seeing each other for quite a while and look very loved up, a source claims.”What the actual fuck? What fucking _source_?” Harry exclaims, shoving the magazine under Niall’s nose. “Who is this source?”

“You _do_ know they’re making shit up, right? It’s journalism. Tabloids. Media.”

Harry buries his face in the pillow, and then lets out a scream. “This sucks ass. I wonder what Louis will say. Or Van Gaal. Or my _dad._ Shit.”

He rolls over and tells Niall to go up to his father’s office and shred all the magazines except of one copy. As soon as Niall is out of the room, he stands off the bed and grabs his phone.

“This is a disaster.” He whispers as he dials.

It takes four rings until Louis answers.

“Do you fucking know how _early_ it is?” is the answer he gets on the fifth ring.

“It’s past noon.”

“Shit.” Louis groans and Harry hears some rustling. “So what’s up? Finally decided to ask me out properly?”

“Uh…no.” Harry says, confused.

“Oh. Well this is awkward then. So what’s it about?”

“Sooo…have you read The Mirror lately?”

“No, why?”

“Well, someone apparently took a picture of us kissing at the airport yesterday and now it’s everywhere.”

Louis lets out a low groan. “That probably explains why Van Gaal called me like, a hundred times today.”

“Call him back.”

“Now I’m scared.” Louis laughs. “Alright. I’m going to call him. Send me photos of the article in the meantime.”

“Okay.”

Louis hangs up without even a goodbye, so Harry tries to ignore the knot he has in his stomach as he takes pictures of the article and sends them to Louis on WhatsApp. He has to wait about ten minutes for Louis to respond.

**Louis:** so…

**Louis:** I talked to van gaal

**Harry:** and?

**Louis:** he wants to meet us in his office @ 7 tonight

**Harry:** why so late?

**Louis:** he’s busy during the day

**Harry:** how did he react?

**Louis:** he wasn’t too angry

**Louis:** but he was serious

**Louis:** so idk

There’s a few minutes of silence, until Louis texts him again.

**Louis:** wtf???

**Louis:** what source? Wtf?

**Harry:** that’s what I said!

**Louis:** u want me to come pick u up tonight?

**Harry:** sure

**Harry:** :)

Harry spends the rest of his day trying to figure out what he’s going to tell his father, if he’s been confronted with it, but the only solution he comes up with, is to just pretend nothing happened and if he’s asked about it, deny it.

That time comes sooner than expected though. His father is in the living room when he walks downstairs to put some shoes on since Louis should be picking him up any second.

“Where are you going?”

“Got a meeting at the training center?”

“What is it about?”

Harry looks down at his feet. “Have no idea.”

“Could it be about this?” His father says and holds up The Mirror magazine.

Harry almost shits himself. “What about it?”

“I read the article Harry. What did I tell you about Louis Tomlinson?”

“Look, dad. That article is plain shit. I can’t be arsed with it right now.”

“So are you two dating now?”

Harry shifts his body weight from one foot to the other. “No.”

“Then why are you kissing?”

“It’s just a friendly kiss.”

His father is obviously having none of it. “Friends don’t just kiss in the airport. On the _lips_.”

“ _Jesus_ , dad. There’s nothing going on, okay? And even if there was, I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

“He’s five years older.”

“So? You are four years older than mum.”

“Yes, but those-“

“I don’t want to hear about other times! I know what I’m doing.”

His father sighs. “Did you two have sex?”

“ _Dad_!”

“What? I’m just making sure you at least know how to use protection.”

“It’s not like I’m going to get pregnant or something, right?”

There’s a honk coming from outside, so Harry zips up his jacket. “I have to go now.”

“Is that him? I have to talk-“

“No you don’t.” Harry says and strides over to the door, grabs his keys, and leaves.

Louis is waiting on him in his Porsche, music blasting all the way up while he’s smoking a cigarette out the window. He lowers the volume when Harry gets in and smiles.

“Took you long enough.”

“My dad was just about to give me a lecture about STD’s.”

Louis snorts. “So he saw the article huh?”

“Who hasn’t?”

“I’m going to tweet something nasty to The Mirror. Just watch.”

He hands Harry his phone after punching the code in, and opens the Twitter app before he begins driving.

“Tweet this.”

Harry opens up a new tweet, and looks at Louis expectantly.

“I’d like to start the day by saying a big fuck you to The Mirror.”

“Seriously?” “Yes.”

“So are you like, saying that what they wrote wasn’t true?”

“No. I’m saying that the whole article was pointless and that they should stop fucking around with people’s private lives.”

Harry nods and locks Louis’ phone, refraining from checking any messages to see whom else he’s talking to. Also, he’s holding back from asking him whether he’s afraid of coming out or not, whether he’s ashamed of Harry, and if he’d actually like to talk about it.

He’s too scared though, so he pushes the thought to the back of his head.

Louis parks the car in front of the training center, and takes a deep breath before getting out.

Eleanor is at the front desk, and the moment she gives them a compassionate smile, it’s obvious to both of them that she already knows why they’re here.

Van Gaal is waiting in his office when Harry and Louis enter, with the magazine under his palms.

“Hi.” Louis says and sits down a few chairs away from him.

Harry takes a seat across from Louis, trying to be as professional as possible.

“You both know why you’re here.”

“Right.” Harry says.

“Can one of you explain to me what went down? What is going on? Are you two dating? When did it happen?”

Louis is staring down at his hands, but Harry doesn’t want to be the one to go first, so he doesn’t say anything either. Eventually, Louis speaks up.

“So…we’ve been like, really good friends for a while now, and we’ve started like, kissing.” Louis starts, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“Is it serious?”

No one answers.

“So I guess you two haven’t sorted this out.” Van Gaal says, closing the magazine. “Look. I didn’t call you here to yell at you, because what you do in private is none of my business as long as it doesn’t affect the public image of the team. I’m not being homophobic; I don’t have anything against that. Louis, if you want, I can schedule a public interview for you to come out, or whatever will make you feel comfortable.”

Louis shifts, obviously uncomfortable, into his seat.

“I don’t-I don’t need a coming out interview. I’ll do it my way when I feel comfortable.”

“Either way, for the purpose of your performance during the game, we have to take some measures.” Van Gaal tells them.

“What do you mean?” Harry asks.

“I don’t want Louis’ head to be somewhere else during the League. So you either stop whatever this is, or Harry, you’re fired.”

It doesn’t hit Harry as hard as it should be. The only thing he’s worried about is seeing Louis during the League, since he won’t be allowed to be there during practice anymore. What excuse will he have now to see Louis on a daily basis? He obviously won’t have the guts to invite him out.

Louis stares at Harry for a moment, a questioning look in his eyes.

“I’d like to be fired.” Harry says, looking at Van Gaal. He doesn’t know for sure what that means for whatever he and Louis have going on, but he hopes Louis will take it as a good thing.

Apparently, he does, because his eyes light up.

“Alright then. I’ll get Eleanor to put the contracts together so you can sign them next week after the game.”

Harry nods, and waits for the discussion to be over.

“Alright. So we’re done here. You’re free to go. Louis, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He doesn’t say anything but a goodbye to Harry, which makes him feel a bit shit, but he doesn’t say anything about it.

Louis offers to drive him home, so after a shared cigarette they climb into the car.

“Are you nervous?” Harry asks.

Louis keeps his eyes on the road. “About what?”

“About the League.”

“Nah, not really. I just hope I won’t fuck it up.”

Ten minutes later, they’re already pulling up by Harry’s house.

“Listen.” Louis starts, turning into his seat. “I’m sorry about your job.”

“It’s fine. I wasn’t doing much anyway.”

“Yeah but-“

“And…I don’t know. I _think_ that what we…’have’ is much more important than a stupid summer job, innit?”

Louis takes a few moments to think about it. “Like?”

Harry hesitates for a second. “Like you. If you want to, I mean.”

“If I want to what?”

“To keep seeing each other even though I don’t come to practice now.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Louis smiles, and then leans over to kiss Harry on the lips.

Harry’s heart jumps in his chest but he ignores it as he gets out of the car and opens the gate.

-

He spends the next two days in his room, anxious about the first official Manchester United game tomorrow. He hasn’t seen Louis at all since he dropped him off on Saturday, because the football player had practice after practice and press conferences and public appearances are scheduled in the span of two days.

Now it’s Tuesday at noon, which means that in less than four hours, the stadium will be packed with supporters from all over the country dying to see the two teams play against each other. His father has two season tickets, and due to the fact that he’s on a trip overseas for an entire week to attend a course, he let Niall borrow his ticket.

Barbara is still in Paris until Friday, so Harry’s been spending a lot of alone time with Niall, which usually entails a lot of talk about their sexual experience, eating and drinking a lot, and going out with a group from high school in the evening.

“I can’t believe we have seats literally next to the benches, this is going to be fuckin’ awesome! Do you think we can get like, into their locker rooms?”

“I doubt it. Van Gaal is apparently very strict about it.” Harry says as he stares out the taxi window. They’re on their way to lunch, and right after they’re taking the tube to the stadium to get there one hour before the game so they avoid the crowds. Also, Niall hates waiting for beer, so he’s not in the mood to stand in a long queue.

They have lunch at a restaurant in Piccadilly that makes the best pizza by far, probably in all of England.

“So what did your dad say about you quitting your job?”

“I told him why I had to quit, or get fired, and he didn’t say much about it. He just told me that he won’t pay for my car, and that I still have to save money to buy one.”

“Shit, that sucks man.”

“Well, you’re going to get a car soon, so it’s like I’ll be getting a car.”

“It’s a present for my birthday, but hey, sharing is caring.” Niall says, and smiles with his mouth full of pizza.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Jeez, it’s like you’re Barbara.”

Harry smirks. “I _am_ Barbara, just without the long hair and without the vagina. And I’m definitely better in bed.”

Niall squints at him. “I seriously doubt that.”

“I don’t. Louis told me I was great.”

“No thank you. I wouldn’t have sex with you even if I’d get paid. Well, it depends on the sum we’re talking about.”

“You’re not even my type.” Harry says.

“Excuse me? I _so_ am your type. If I were gay, you’d totally date me.”

“No, I wouldn’t. You have no ass and I’m an ass man. You look like a skinny chicken with those legs.”

“That hurt man.” Niall says, but then bursts out laughing. “But seriously, you’ve never had a crush on me? Not even the tiniest attraction? Nothing?”

Harry shakes his head.

“We’ve known each other for too long and I’ve already told you, you’re not my type.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you like your men older and stronger. With some meat on their bones.”

“See? You _do_ know me.” Harry jokes, which causes Niall to throw a piece of olive at his face. He misses his nose but it gets into his hair, and that makes them both laugh.

They finish their pizzas around five, and Harry feels generous so he offers to pay for both of them before they head out towards the tube station.

“I’m going to love you forever.” Niall tells him as they walk down the stairs to go underground.

Harry laughs. “Why is that?”

“Because you just paid for my pizza, which is…I can’t even explain it. I owe you my life.”

“Niall, it’s just food.”

“I love you.”

Harry rolls his eyes and Niall pats him on the back. “I’m just taking the piss. If we go out tonight, then I’m paying.”

Harry agrees before he checks the schedule for the tube, which is supposed to come in less than a minute and take them to the stadium.

“So are you excited?”

“About what?”

The tube stops right in front of them a few seconds later, and it’s filled to the brim with people dressed in Manchester United shirts and painted faces. A few more people join them, together with Harry and Niall, before the tube takes off again.

“About the game. Seeing your boyfriend play. Supporting him. I can’t believe you didn’t get a sign or something! He’ll definitely see you since we’re so close!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Harry says, and then makes eye contact with a group of girl supporters who are eyeing him quite suspiciously. He leans over to whisper to Niall. “I think these girls know me from somewhere.”

“Um…maybe because they’re rooting for a team whose new player you kissed in public? Just saying.” “Oh shit. Right. But…you can barely recognize it’s me in the magazine.”

Niall shrugs. “Who cares?”

“You’re right.”

Even though there’s a good one hour left until the game is supposed to kick off, there are already a lot of people in front of the stadium, waiting to get in.

“It’s a full house.” Niall complains as he leads them to the VIP entry. They suppose they have VIP tickets since they’re sitting right in the front and get free drinks. Niall is also excited about that.

They find their seats fifteen minutes later, right in the middle of the field, close enough to see everything perfectly.

“This is amazing. Let’s post a snap, I want everyone to be jealous.”

“Okay…middle school girl who just got her first bra.” Harry laughs.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be against sexism.”

Harry shakes his head and looks at the camera, mimicking Niall’s expression as he snaps the photo.

“I’m going to Instagram this, it’s too good.”

“Dear _God_.”

“Hey, at least I don’t post pictures of my food and hashtag them instayummy, okay? You’re on a whole other level.”

He soon gets a notification that he got a mention on Instagram, so he checks it just because he’s starting to get bored. He waits for it to reach over eleven likes before he likes it too.

**_niallhoran:_ ** _excited t see @manchesterunited with @harrystyles 2nite ! #seasontickets_

“I wonder what Louis is doing right now. Probably dying of anxiety.” Harry says, sighing.

“I know what I’m doing right now. Going to get us two beers and some nachos, because you need to stop all the melodramatic sighing before I punch yer face in.”

“That would be good.” 

“Don’t worry, they’re on me.” Niall says and stands up.

“They’re _free_ , and also practically on _me_ , because my dad-“

But Niall turns around and leaves anyway. It takes him about half an hour to come back, right in time to see the team come out on the field and start doing their warm-ups.

“I got something for you.” Niall tells him and hands him a small bag, before he places the two beers and the nachos on the ground by their feet.

“What is it?”

“Look at it.”

Harry opens the bag to find a nicely folded, red shirt. He takes it out and looks at the back of it, which has TOMLINSON written in giant bold letters.

“My treat for you. So you now…you can support your boyfriend.”

“He’s not…oh whatever.”

Harry takes off the shirt he was wearing in a quick motion, before putting the other on. It fits nicely.

“You’re going to take a picture of it when we leave.” Harry announces him, just as the two teams come out on the pitch, startling them both.

The entire stadium starts screaming and cheering. Niall leans over to Harry.

“Who’s got their bra on now?”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Yes it does! You just said-“

“Shhh! There’s Louis.” Harry shushes him and points out the last player to come out on the pitch, wearing a headband and looking like fucking sex on legs in white shorts and a tight fitting red shirt.

Louis looks around until he makes eye contact with Harry and smiles, before he starts doing some crunches like the rest of his team. It takes all the willpower Harry has not to film the entire thing so he can add it to his wank bank later.

_Wank bank?_

_Jesus, I need a life_

The teams warm up for about fifteen minutes, before they go back inside, only to come out with kids holding their hands, right before the national hymn plays.

Then, the presenter starts naming the players one by one, and it may be just Harry, but the entire stadium (at least the Manchester United side) shouts the loudest when Louis’ name is announced through the speakers.

Louis looks delighted and also nervous, which makes Harry want to cuddle him and fuck him raw at the same time.

Hopefully, he’ll get to do both later.

The game kicks off five minutes later, and Harry doesn’t even get to admire Louis for more than a few seconds because Louis is like lightning on the field. Everyone seems to be cheering him on, rooting for him to score a goal so he can officially be accepted as a Manchester United player by the team’s supporters.

Harry’s heart is in his throat, and by halftime it’s still 0-0, even though Louis and Van Persie managed to get close to scoring.

“If they win I’m going to shit meself.” Niall tells him after he’s back with another round of beers. “If they lose, I’m also going to shit meself in a bad way.”

“How can you shit yourself in a good way?” Harry asks as he takes one of the beers from him.

“Well, you know those type of shits that really hurt your bumh-“

“Okay, we’re done with this discussion.”

Niall cackles but changes the subject to what he should buy Barbara for their two-month anniversary in two weeks.

“Do you have to get each other gifts every month?”

“Yeah. That’s how relationships work, don’t they?”

“I think you should give and receive all the time-“

Niall rolls his eyes. “Don’t start with the romantic bullshit please. Tell it to Louis or someone who gets off on that kind of stuff.”

“I don’t think Lou gets off on that kind of stuff. He’s more like you. I’m more like…the Barbara of our relationship.”

“Well, you’d think so, since you took it up the arse just a week ago.”

Harry thinks about it for a second. “I really _did_ take it a week ago.”

“’bout a week ago, week ago.” Niall sings, before they both burst out laughing like children.

There’s a whistle going off, and then the teams appear on the pitch once again, which means that the break is over.

“How much do you want to bet Louis scores?” Niall asks.

“If he scores, he’ll also score tonight.”

Niall shoots Harry a look. “When did you get so dirty?”

“Anal sex really changes one.”

Niall throws his head back, almost knocking his beer over. “I will give you fifty quid if you manage to fuck him first before he fucks you again.”

Harry holds his hand out. “Deal.” They shake on it.

The game begins, and it’s not long before Rooney scores a goal, which has half of the stadium standing up and shouting.

There are ten minutes left of the game when number 7 from the other team scores, and Harry’s mood goes to shit. He doesn’t want penalty kicks because they’re incredibly stressful, so he crosses his fingers and hopes someone from Man United will just score another fucking goal, or maybe the other team will accidentally kick the ball in their own net.

It happens one minute before the end of the game.

Carrick kicks the ball over to Louis, Louis kicks it over to Herrera once he’s close enough to the goal, and Herrera kicks it back just in time for Louis to catch it and kick it. The ball flies right over the goalie’s head and into the net, and at the same time that half of the stadium stands up in joy.

“He fucking did it!” Niall screams, hugging Harry as they jump around like idiots.

Louis runs over to his teammates and they all just get into a giant hug, ruffling Louis’ hair up and slapping him on the back.

When the whistle that announces the end of the game is heard, everyone is incredibly pleased and happy, and Harry just can’t take his eyes off of Louis. They make eye contact and Harry gives him a dimpled smile accompanied by a thumbs up, which has Louis smiling back and suddenly running over to him.

Louis jumps over one of the small fences, and then grips into the bars that Harry was previously gripping into so he can lift himself up and be at the same eye level with Harry.

The younger lad doesn’t even get to register what’s happening because the next moment Louis is kissing him, with everyone watching.

Niall starts shouting that he can’t believe this and even gets his phone out at one point, but Harry can only focus on Louis’ lips. He can’t believe he’s being kissed in public.

When Louis pulls away with the softest smile Harry’s ever seen, they’re right on the big screen with everyone cheering along and celebrating their first victory; the first one out of many yet to come, hopefully.

Louis shouts at him to come by the locker rooms as soon as they can manage to get inside, and Harry nods right before he takes off back to his team.

When the team disappears inside, Harry can feel many pairs of eyes on him, but he’s trying to keep his calm as he follows Niall to the nearest exit.

They find their way to their locker rooms eventually, but there are two security guards standing by the door.

“Um…we’re here for Louis Tomlinson?” Harry says.

“I can see that on your shirt, but I’m afraid everyone is here for someone. I can’t let you in, I’m sorry.”

“But can you like…just call him over a bit? He knows who we are.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Harry rolls his eyes and gets his phone out to text Louis. A few seconds later, Louis is shirtless by the door, telling the security guards to let Harry in.

“They’re with me.”

Harry gives one of the guards an incredibly sweet smile before he steps inside and almost slams the door behind him.

Niall takes off towards De Gea immediately, so Harry’s left alone with a very sweaty, and at the same time a very attractive Louis.

“Hi.” He says, still in awe at how beautiful Louis can be.

“Hi.”

“Sooo…nice game out there.”

“Nice shirt.”

Harry can feel himself blushing.

“Which was your favorite part of the game?” Louis asks, saving Harry from an awkward answer to the remark he just made.

“When you kissed me at the end.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “I was expecting something along the lines of you liking how my arse looks in these shorts.”

“I didn’t want to be too blunt.” Harry looks around until he sees Van Gaal talking to an interviewer. “So what did Van Gaal say?”

“He doesn’t really care, but he wants me to schedule a proper coming out interview.”

“Do you want to do it?”

“Yeah.” Louis smiles. “I feel like ‘m ready for it. It’s scheduled for Friday, right after our game with Aston Villa.”

“Really? I’m proud of you.”

“I should be thanking you actually. If it weren’t for you I would have never done it in the first place.”

Harry takes that information in. “What did your family say?” “That they’ve always known.” Louis snorts. “’s a bit weird since they barely saw me in the past five years, but I’m happy.”

Harry’s phone buzzes in his pocket. It’s a text from Barbara saying that she watched the game on the telly and she is still in shock about the kiss. Harry replies with a smiling emoji before he returns his attention back to Louis.

“Can you take a picture of me with my shirt? I want to upload it to my Insta.”

“Sure. Showing off, aren’t you?”

“Oh, shut up.”

He turns around after handing Louis his phone and waits to hear the camera go off.

“We’re going to hit the showers, but wait for me here.”

Harry nods and sits down on one of the benches while he waits, and he’s joined by Niall after a few minutes, who tells him about a victory party at De Gea’s house.

“We’re going, right?”

“Were we invited?”

“Of course!” Niall says. “He just told me to tell you too. It starts at ten since they don’t have to show up for practice tomorrow until much later.”

“Alright. I have to go take a shower and change though.”

Niall rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything else.

Harry then uploads the picture to his Instagram.

He gets forty likes in less than two minutes which is extremely unusual, but then again, ever since Louis followed him two months ago, he’s gained over ten thousand followers. All of them are fans of Manchester United, some with nice things to say, some with ugly things to say. Either way, Harry’s not bothered because now it’s obvious that Louis likes him back.

Niall and Harry leave after Louis comes back from the showers, a towel hanging low on his waist, and tells them that he’ll pick them both up later from Harry’s house to take them to De Gea’s.

Then, right before they exit the locker room, he catches Harry by the arm and tells him to bring lube.

“What for?” Harry dumbly asks.

“Because I don’t want it to hurt when you fuck me.”

Harry looks at him, blinking.

“Now go, wouldn’t want you to miss the tube.” Louis winks, and then closes the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> So I've officially decided that the story will have 16 chapters that I already have planned out, so updating them on the planned dates you can [view here](http://www.theboyfriendstagram.com/post/123470750335/bring-your-body-baby-i-could-bring-you-fame) will be easy :)
> 
> ALSO, IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN SOME SERIOUS BETA-ING, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN A COMMENT SO I CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU!
> 
> ! Next update will be on November 28th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	13. The one with the coming out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the two day wait, but I hope you like it ;)
> 
> Thank you to [Anna](http://redphonebooth3.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing for me :)
> 
> Happy reading and please read the end notes :D

When Harry gets home, the only thing on his mind are Louis’ words.

_“Because I don’t want it to hurt when you fuck me.”_

**“Because I don’t want it to hurt when you fuck me.”**

**_“Because I don’t want it to hurt when you fuck me.”_ **

He’s going crazy just thinking about fucking Louis, so having a wank in the shower as soon as he gets home is pretty much inevitable at this point.

Niall goes in after him, and Harry cackles when he hears him shouting that there are come stains on the wall. Meanwhile, Harry turns his entire closet upside down to find something attractive enough to wear.

It seems like ever since he’s met Louis, he can never look good enough to be completely pleased with himself.

He finally picks out a NSW Nike shirt, the skinniest black jeans he owns, and of course, his black converse to match everything.

When Niall comes out of the bathroom, already dressed and everything, Harry is staring at himself in the mirror.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Niall asks, coming to stand behind him.

“Louis is coming to pick us up in less than twenty minutes, and my hair is a fucking mess.”

“Jesus fucking _Christ_.” Niall groans. “Just shake it like you usually do. Seriously now, he’s way too in love with you to even care how you look.”

“Yeah right. I’m lucky if I get an ‘I like you’ out of him.”

“You already _did_ , you idiot. So stop fretting over something so unimportant and tell me where I can find some socks, since you apparently changed their location.”

“Bottom drawer. I changed their location because you always borrow them and bring back just one of them.”

Niall rolls his eyes as he sits down on the floor to put his socks on. “So how hot do you think your victory sex will be?”

“Victory sex? Oh dear _God,_ is that what it is? Shit. Victory sex is usually really rough because people are fired up right?”

Niall shrugs, which isn’t helping at all. “Probably. When Derbie won two weeks ago, Barbara told me her legs wouldn’t stop shaking for two days.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“I swear to God I am not. Ask her.”

“I actually will.”

“Good.” Niall answers and then stands up. “How good do you think you are with your fucking skills?” “What?”

“Like…movements, stamina, and shit. Dirty talk? I bet he’s a bitch in bed if he’s getting fucked.”

Harry frustratedly runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I haven’t fucked that many guys, you know that.”

“I know. I was just hoping you could lie to yourself by lying to me right now. I’m trying to help you.”

“Well, you’re not.” Harry says, staring at his hair in the mirror. “I’ll just go with it, I guess.” He stops. “Wait. Are you offering yourself for-“

“Fuck no!” Niall exclaims, looking horrified. “I wouldn’t go anywhere near that dick of yours. No offence mate.”

Harry shakes his head, and then pushes his hair to the right, just as Louis honks from outside.

“Dear Lord, give me strength.” He says, more to himself as he grabs a pack of lube and a condom from his nightstand, stuffing them into his jacket.

They grab their phones, keys, and then they’re walking towards the stairs.

“If you end up shaggin’ him, you’re going to tell me, right?” Niall checks as Harry locks the door.

“Who else am I going to tell? What the fuck?”

Niall shrugs, before they turn around and walk towards the gate.

Louis is waiting for them in his Porsche, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as he stares right out at the road. When Harry knocks on the window, Louis startles and unlocks the doors.

Harry gets into the front seat next to him, while Niall climbs into the back, slamming the door a bit too loudly.

“Hey, watch it. It’s a Porsche.” Louis jokes as he starts the engine. Then he turns his head to Harry. “Hi.”

Harry smiles in return, and before he can register what’s happening, Louis is leaning over to kiss him on the lips for a short second. Niall doesn’t say anything about it, but Harry meets his eyes in the rearview mirror just in time to catch his knowing look.

“Shut up Niall.” Harry mutters.

“I didn’t say anything!” Niall defensively says, raising his hands to prove a point.

David’s house is fifteen minutes away from Harry’s, just a neighborhood over, but when they get there the driveway is already packed with expensive cars (some of which Harry recognizes), so Louis has to park a block away.

Music can be heard from outside, and Harry feels like he’s in one of those American movies where the richest kid is having a party with the entire school attending. He’s almost disappointed when he doesn’t see people drinking from red cups, but he gets over it soon enough, because almost everyone is drunk already.

The music is way too loud, so Harry can barely hear Louis when he tells him that he’s going to say hi to a few people.

Niall tells him to go get a drink and try to catch up with everyone, so Harry agrees because he doesn’t have anything better to do anyway.

The only people he knows in this house are the guys on the team and a couple of their girlfriends he’s seen around in the locker room after practice.

“Cheers.” Niall says after he’s poured them two shots of Jägermeister each. “To getting mortal and winning the game.”

Harry clinks their glasses together, before they both drink the shots one after the other, at the same time.

The thing about Niall is, that no one can really resist those blue eyes when they’re staring right into your soul after asking you to do another round of Jägerbombs.

The RedBull and the Jägermeister are starting to get to his head, so it’s no surprise that he’s wondering where Louis’s disappeared. Harry hasn’t seen him since he sauntered off to greet some of his mates, which was more than an hour ago.

“I’m gonna go find Louis.” Harry yells into Niall’s ear, but the blonde lad is too focused on the conversation he’s having with a random girl than to confirm the fact that he actually registered what Harry just said to him.

Harry wonders if he should be worried about Niall and that girl, but then he remembers how Niall confessed his love for Barbara (well, only Harry knows, but still) just a few days ago while she was gone.

Louis is sitting on the couch between Liam (who Harry didn’t even know was coming), and another guy he doesn’t really recognize, so it’s only normal that he gets a bit jealous when he sees how close the guy’s lips are to Louis’ ear.

It may be the alcohol in his system, or the fact that he’s just fucking head over heels for him, but Harry still taps Louis on the shoulder and drunkenly smiles when they make eye contact.

“Where have you been?” Louis asks, getting up from the couch, completely forgetting about the guy he was just talking to.

“In the kitchen.”

“I’ve been looking for you.” Louis pouts. He’s tipsy, Harry can tell.

“I was in the kitchen.”

“No, I’ve looked there. Only saw Niall. Hey, do you want me to introduce you to my best friend?”

Harry looks at him weirdly. “I’ve always thought Zayn and Liam were your best friends.”

“No no, they’re also my best friend. But my _bestest_ friend is _Stan_. We’ve been friends since we were three. Lemme see where he is.”

Harry steadies him with a hand on his back, and then follows Louis through the crowd, until they’re finally outside.

There are three guys out on the back porch, smoking cigarettes and laughing with beers in their hand.

“Harreh, this is Stan. And Luke, and Oli.” Louis says, pointing to everyone as he names them.

“Hi.”

“So you’re Harry.” Stan smirks. “Almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Well, all you’ve seen are blurry pictures of me, so.”

If Harry weren’t drunk, he definitely wouldn’t be so chatty with Louis’ friends. Not because they’re older than him, but something about the fact that they’re Louis’ friends, people who have known him most of his life and probably want the best of him, is a bit intimidating.

The conversation starts flowing, and it’s definitely not as awkward as expected, so Harry makes a mental note to thank the person who discovered alcohol.

Louis’ friends eventually go back inside to get more drinks, which leaves Harry alone with him.

“So?” Louis asks, stepping closer until there’s barely an inch between them.

“So what?”

“What do you think?”

Louis’ voice gets lower with every letter he says.

“I think…that you’ve had _waaay_ too much Vodka.” Harry laughs, putting his hand on the back of Louis’ neck to bring him even closer.

“Mmmreally?”

Harry nods.

“You want to know what _I_ think?” Louis continues.

“Always.”

“I think…” Louis trails off, brushing his lips against Harry’s, “that you should take me upstairs and fuck me so hard that I pass out.”

Harry can already feel his cock growing in his pants, making him uncomfortable. Even though they’re both drunk, they are pretty sober to know that they want to do this.

“I think…that’s a brilliant idea.” He responds, trying to keep his cool so Louis won’t notice that he’s nervous as fuck.

So Harry places a hand on his back and leads him inside, trying to remember where he’s seen a staircase.

“There’s an empty guest bedroom at the end of the hall.” Louis tells him when they’re finally upstairs.

“Do you think David will mind?”

“Well, since he’s the one who told me about it, I don’t think so.”

“He did?” Harry asks, and they come to a halt right by the door.

“Yes. Would I lie?”

Louis then turns around, looking at him with a cocky expression, before he pulls Harry in for a sloppy kiss. It doesn’t take long until the kiss heats up, therefore, ten seconds later, Louis is already jumping into his arms and locking his legs around Harry’s waist.

Harry carries him into the room and shuts it with his back, and somehow he manages to turn the key, just to make sure no one is going to walk in on them.

He places Louis gently on the side of the bed, throws the lube and condom on the nightstand, and before he can even take his shirt off, his belt is already undone.

“I want to suck you off.”

“R-really?”

Louis rolls his eyes to answer his dumb question, and soon enough Harry’s pants and briefs are around his ankles. It turns out that Louis doesn’t want to waste anymore time, because he’s already got Harry’s dick in his mouth and he’s sucking on it like his life is at stake. Harry’s not one to complain though; it feels amazing. And since Louis seems like a good lad, he doesn’t hesitate to fuck his mouth a couple of times while gripping into his hair.

It all gets too much when Louis is licking and sucking the head of his cock while looking up at him with glassy eyes.

Harry pulls back. “Get on the bed.”

It’s weird. Telling Louis what to do, now that the have been reversed. But Louis complies immediately, and it soon dawns on Harry that even though Louis is always so bossy and has a powerful personality, he’s incredibly obedient in bed when he feels like it.

Harry quickly undoes Louis’ belt and pulls his pants down together with his briefs, and then discards both of their shirts and jackets somewhere on the floor by the foot of the bed.

“I’m gonna-I’m gonna try one finger, okay?” he asks as he spreads Louis’ legs open before reaches for the lube sachet and turns on the lamp.

“I tried doing it before we came here…but sure.”

“You fingered yourself?”

Louis nods, not even a trace of shame in his eyes. Harry takes his time with lubing his fingers up because Louis is just too beautiful when he’s looking at his fingers.

When he eventually shoves one in, Louis lets out a small whine, and then asks for another. And who is Harry to deny him such a favor?

One minute later, two of his fingers are inside of Louis’ tight hole, stretching him open with scissoring motions.

“Shit, that feels so good.” Louis mutters, turning his head to the side and closing his eyes, once again blessing Harry with his beauty.

When he clenches his jaw, Louis’ cheekbones jut out, so Harry can’t help but lean over to kiss him.

“You good?” he checks.

“Mhm. Fuck me.”

It’s so blunt and straightforward, Harry can already tell that he won’t last more than say, ten minutes, if he’s lucky.

He pulls his fingers out and takes the condom, tearing the pack open with his teeth like he’s seen in porn.

_Who said porn wasn’t good for something other than getting yourself off?_

Louis helps him roll the condom down, and then watches Harry as he uses the last remains of the lube on his cock.

The second Harry’s tip pushes in, Louis bites his lip and places his hand on Harry’s arm, not taking his eyes away from the part where their bodies are touching.

“Shit, hold on a second.” Louis breathes when Harry finally pushes in until he bottoms out. Their chests are now touching and Harry’s kissing him, trying to get his mind off of the slight burn Louis’ probably feeling right now.

“Tell me when.”

Louis doesn’t respond; instead, he kisses Harry more fervently. It’s a hasty kiss, with a lot of tongue and panting, but Harry loves every single second of it.

“Come on.”

That’s all Harry really needs before he starts thrusting as deep as he can while holding himself up on his palms over Louis’ chest. He does it like that for a while, and his pace picks up with every single moan he gets out of Louis.

“I can’t believe I’m fucking you.” Harry breathes into his ear, and then sucks on the lobe.

“Yeah, feels fuckin’ great, but it just won’t do.”

Before Harry can ask what he means, Louis takes over and gets on top without breaking Harry’s cock. If anything, it just feels even better because his rim tightens thanks to the movement.

Now, all Harry can do is watch Louis fuck himself on his cock, going up and down just the way he knows he likes it. And judging by his whimpers and shallow breaths he’s letting out, he must be fucking loving it.

Louis looks down at him with the sexiest look Harry’s ever seen, and pulls him up so he’s practically sitting right in Harry’s lap as they grind against each other.

“I can feel you in my stomach I think.” Louis slurs.

 _God,_ even his alcohol breath turns Harry on.

“Don’t flatter me or it’ll go to my head.”

Louis shakes his head, and pulls him back in so their lips can lock. He seems to be doing all the work while Harry just sits there and stares at his toned stomach and his flushed cock rubbing between their bellies. Which is a bit ironic, since Harry’s the one who’s supposed to do the fucking.

“’m really close Harry.” Louis breathes into his mouth as he slides a hand between them to grasp his own cock.

That’s Harry’s cue to flip them over once more and fuck him senseless with all the energy he has left.

Louis’ whines get more frequent and high-pitched with every thrust, and Harry can already feel the red scratches forming on his back from Louis’ nails.

“Yeah baby, fuck me just like that.” Louis moans into the pillow after he’s turned his head.

These words are like music to Harry’s ears, so he does the best he can to fuck him even harder, until he’s sure he’s reached Louis’ prostate and is now hitting it over and over, based on the sounds coming out of his mouth.

Louis reaches down to jerk himself off a few quick times, and he finally comes all over his tummy, before Harry can feel him slipping in a state of languidness.

Harry’s not done though, but Louis tells him to pull out; so he does. He’s not sure what’s going on, until he’s being pulled upwards, to the point where he’s straddling Louis’ chest.

The condom is removed and Louis’ mouth is on his cock for the second time tonight. Louis sucks him off until Harry comes into his mouth with a deep groan.

He stays like that for a few seconds; the sensitive head of his cock sliding over Louis’ lips, until he eventually climbs off of him and lays down on his back.

“That was even better than last time.” Louis says, turning his head to look at him. “And your cum tastes nicer than expected.”

“Thanks. And you’re a whiny bitch in bed, just so you know.”

Louis softly punches him in the side. “Shut up. It was just a one time thing.”

“Us fucking, or you being the bottom?” Harry asks, a bit afraid of the answer.

“Me being a whiny bitch in bed. We definitely won’t stop the fucking. No matter who takes it up the arse.”

Harry opens his mouth to say something, but Louis interrupts him as he stands up with an excited look on his face.

“How about this? From now on, whoever feels like doing the fucking will do it, right?”

Harry shrugs and tries to play it cool, even though he’s having an internal freak out.

“Right.” “Good. Glad we got this sorted.” Louis smiles and holds up his hand, high fiving Harry. “‘M going to shower and then we have to go back downstairs before anyone notices we’ve been gone.”

“I think they pretty much figured out what we’ve just done, you weren’t quiet with your moaning.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

Louis stands up from the bed and gives Harry the honor to watch him walk towards the bathroom with that amazing ass.

They take turns showering and then walk back downstairs to join everyone. The party has died down a bit, and everyone has already split up in groups around tables or outside, chatting away.

Harry spots Niall on the couch with that bird he’s been talking to, and he’s even closer now, which is a bit alarming, so he decides to leave Louis and walk over to see what’s up.

“Hey.”

Niall looks up at him, and immediately removes his arm that’s been laying on the couch behind her.

“Hey mate, what’s up?”

“Nothing really, you want to go outside for a smoke?”

“Sure.”

Niall leaves the girl without even a word, but it’s obvious that he knows something’s wrong based on his face expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Who’s that girl?” Harry asks, and lets Niall light both their cigarettes.

“Marnie? She’s an old friend.”

“Old friend? How come I’ve never heard of her?”

“She’s a family friend, and she’s here because she’s David’s brother’s girlfriend. You know I’d never cheat on Barbara, we were just catching up.”

Harry shrugs with one shoulder. “Alright, just checking.”

They walk back inside after they’ve finished the cigarettes, and Niall suggests that they leave since the party has already died down.

Harry looks for Louis while Niall says goodbye to everyone, and finds him in the kitchen talking to David.

“We’re leaving.” He says.

Louis stops talking to look at him. “Already?”

Harry gives a short nod. “Kind of tired.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you tomorrow then. You know I’ve got my coming out interview.”

“I knew you had one scheduled, but I didn’t know it was tomorrow.”

“Van Gaal said it’s better if it’s sooner rather than later.”

Harry leans against the counter. “And are you nervous?”

“Of course. Was just talkin’ to David about it.”

Harry looks at David, who just nods with a smirk.

“So will it like, be live?”

“No. But The Sun is going to upload it tomorrow evening. So it’ll be public around seven.”

“I hope it goes well.” Harry tells him, and spots Niall in the doorframe with his phone in his hand, probably ordering a taxi. “Alright, I have to go now.”

Louis does a really cute pout, so Harry pulls him in for a goodbye kiss. They apparently forget that David and Niall are also in the room, because they get into it and don’t break apart until David coughs and Niall tells him that the cab is waiting outside.

-

Harry wakes up around twelve the next day, with a stale taste in his mouth and heavy eyes. Barbara is supposed to come home today, so they’re going out later in the evening.

Zayn and Stephanie are already here, cleaning the pool and the house, and since Harry doesn’t have anything better to do, he takes Ernie out for a walk.

It’s around seven in the evening when he’s getting ready to go and shower, that he gets a call from Louis.

“Hello?”

“Hi, did you watch it?”

“Watch what?” 

“The interview that The Sun just posted.”

“Uh…no. Should I?”

“What do you think?” Louis sarcastically answers.

“Alright alright, sorry. I was just getting ready to shower. Which reminds me, do you want to go out tonight? Barbara came home from Paris so we have a reason to get pissed.”

“Where are you going?”

Harry balances his phone on his shoulder as he opens his laptop and clicks on Twitter. “Temple, and then The Milton.”

“Ooh, fancy. Alright. Should I come pick you up?”

“Oh, no. We want to drink after all.”

“Shit, you’re right.”

“So I just saw the tweet.” Harry says as he reads the words ‘Manchester United player Louis Tomlinson officially comes out’. There’s an article link attached to the tweet, and two of the worldwide trends are ‘Louis Tomlinson’ and ‘#WeSupportYouLouis’.

“Did you click it?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll let you watch it then.” Louis says, and Harry can hear the nervousness in his voice, even though he doesn’t known why. The worst is already over.

He hangs up and clicks the link leading to the article. The same title is written in big black block letters, and there’s a video at the beginning of the article, right before a written transcript of the interview. The video isn’t long, almost ten minutes, and Harry can already feel the butterflies in his stomach as he starts the video.

The first part is Louis speaking about how and when he realized that he was gay, if anyone else knows, and how he feels it will affect his football career. It’s clearly visible that he’s nervous as he talks, and Harry’s never seen him like this, ever.

Around minute seven, the interviewer asks him a question that causes Harry’s heart to almost stop.

_“So Louis, is there any reason you’ve decided to do this now? Why not earlier? Does it have anything to do with that brunette boy you kissed yesterday?”_

_“Uh…”_ Louis says, looking down. _“Yeah. I mean, until about…two months ago, I just thought that the attraction I felt towards men was…human. Like, when I thought that a guy looks good and is attractive had nothing to do with my sexual orientation, since I never felt like I wanted to act upon those thoughts.”_

_“And what changed?”_

_“It’s not about what changed. It’s more about who came into my life and changed it.”_

_“So who is this person?”_

Louis hesitates, looking into the camera, and Harry feels like he’s about to vomit.

_“His name’s Harry.”_

_“And how did you meet?”_

_“He worked at the training complex.”_

_“Is he your boyfriend?”_

Harry pauses the video. He’s not sure what he’s more afraid of; Louis saying yes, or Louis saying no. Probably both. He starts the video again.

 _“Well, we haven’t seriously talked about it, but I like to think that yes, he is. I hope.”_ Louis says, with the softest smile ever.

_“Alright then, that’s about it. Thank you, Louis.”_

Louis stands up and shakes the man’s hand, before he smiles into the camera and the video stops, asking Harry if he’d like to share it or replay it.

Harry would much like to punch himself in the face from happiness. He doesn’t get to, though, because his phone is ringing again. It’s Louis.

“Did you see it?”

“Yeah.” Harry breathes.

“Come outside.”

“Wh-are you outside?”

“Yeah, open the gate.”

Harry hurries downstairs and opens the gate for him before he checks himself out in the mirror. He looks like, but doesn’t really care to be honest, so he opens the door to see Louis standing there with a nervous smile on his face.

“So?”

“So?”

“Did you um…like it?”

“Yeah. I’m proud of you.” Harry smiles.

“And about that boyfriend thing-“

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t even let me finish my sentence.”

“Right.”

Harry motions for him to go ahead.

“Are you okay with that? Being boyfriends, I mean.”

“As of today, officially?”

Louis nods.

“Fuck yeah.” Harry smiles and Louis steps forward, kissing him with so much force he almost knocks them both over.

“I’ve got a present for you. As a thank you.” Louis says against his lips with a smile.

“A thank you for what?”

“For everything. I can’t explain it, but I just have a need to thank you for a lot of things.”

Harry looks at him expectantly, but Louis just steps out of the doorframe and motions towards his driveway.

“What the-“ Harry starts, placing his hand over his mouth. “Is that a-“

“A 1967 Austin Healey? Yes it is.”

“You didn’t. You can’t.” “I can and I did.” Louis smiles, taking the keys out of his pocket. “Here you go.”

“I can’t accept it, you know that, right?”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s expensive! And I just-“

“Shut up and take the fucking keys before I hit you in the throat.”

Harry smirks. “Because you can’t reach higher?”

Louis’ nostrils flare as he hands him the keys. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“It’s a gift.” Louis tells him, and follows him outside to the car.

Harry looks at it, still not believing that it’s his. What will his father say? Jesus Christ.

“I can’t take advantage of you like this-“ Harry says as he places a hand on the car.

“You’re not. Don’t make me angry and just fucking accept it.”

“Jesus, alright.” Harry laughs.

Louis places a hand on his waist. “So…do you think we can break in the new car by you sucking me off in it?”

“How about I take a picture of you with the car first?”

“Showing off already?” Louis jokes and leans against the car, waiting to be photographed.

“Showing you off, yes.”

Harry takes the picture with Instagram, and then thinks about the proper description for it. “How about…thank you? With a smile and a heart?”

Louis shakes his head. “How about…there are two things I like to ride in this picture. Or, my favorite ride and Austin Healey.”

“Jesus Christ, no.”

Louis pinches his nipple and pouts, but Harry refuses to post such an outrageous description for almost twenty thousand people to see.

They end up compromising in the end.

He’s in the shower when he starts regretting it, because he knows his father wouldn’t be too pleased to see ‘my favorite ride and Austin Healey’ under a picture of his twenty-three year old boyfriend and the fifty grand car he bought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> So I've officially decided that the story will have 16 chapters that I already have planned out, so updating them on the planned dates you can [view here](http://www.theboyfriendstagram.com/post/123470750335/bring-your-body-baby-i-could-bring-you-fame) will be easy :)
> 
> ! Next update will be on December 5th, 6pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	14. The one with the new roommate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo...this chapter is sort of a filler chapter because it's relevant to the next two (and also last two) chapters of this story :) I hope you like it anyway, so make sure you leave a comment with your feedback x
> 
> Thank you to [Anna](http://redphonebooth3.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing for me :)
> 
> Happy reading :D

Harry attends three more Manchester United games that end in 0-0, 3-1, and 2-2. Louis’s amazing on the field, and even though he’s properly out, people still support him. The fourth game is on Monday, which is only a couple of days away, but Harry’s Welcome Week at Salford University also starts on that same day.

So, to say that Harry is nervous on Saturday morning when he’s supposed to start packing would be a giant understatement. Louis told him that he’ll come along with Harry and help him get settled in his dorm today, but until then, he shouldn’t worry too much about it.

Now that he thinks about it, Harry realizes that his father never really told him anything about the thing between him and Louis, when they officially got together exactly a month ago. He’s obviously seen the interview and it was all over the news and in the papers for about two weeks, until something new came up and everyone forgot about it.

Louis was invited over for ‘dinner’ a week after they began dating, and it went pretty well, since his father had to leave two hours in because one of his clients got himself arrested once again.

That ended in Louis fucking Harry on the kitchen table, and then one more time in the pool. So…it was still a good night.

Since that night two weeks ago though, Harry’s barely seen Louis. He’s always at practice, and if he isn’t, then he’s at a press conference or out with his family. They haven’t had sex either, but that’s not what’s bothering Harry at the moment.

He’s currently in the shower, getting ready to go get dressed and pack whatever’s left, before Louis is coming over to pick some of the luggage up.

Harry doesn’t even know when his father will be back from his trip to London, or who he’s supposed to share a room with at Uni. Everything is just too messy and all at once, he feels like he’s going to lose it. Niall and Barbara already left yesterday, and all of them are meant to meet up at least once a week for lunch and then during the weekend to go out and get mortal.

Getting back to what’s bothering Harry; what bothers him is that now that he’s going to attend Uni, and Louis will still be occupied with the Premier League and whatnot, they’ll probably see each other even less than before. And Harry doesn’t want ‘distance’ (when it’s not even there! They’re going to be about 10 miles apart, that’s it!), or ‘time’ to lead to a breakup that (hopefully) neither of them want.

Barbara’s assured him numerous times before that he’s got nothing to worry about, but truth is, every time Harry sees Louis in the magazine out with a group of ‘guy friends’, or on Tumblr, he gets worried because Louis could’ve spent that time with him. He knows he’s five years younger, and maybe he’s just overreacting to everything, but it wouldn’t hurt to be reminded that age doesn’t matter from time to time and that he’s also as important as Louis’ friends. After all, he was Louis’ friend even before they started dating.

The only time he’s ever at peace with their age difference is when they’re fucking, because he gets all of Louis’ attention and feels like he’s mature enough.

It’s such a stupid reason, honestly, but it’s been bugging him for a couple of weeks now, and he’s not going to shut up about it anymore. Not anymore, because he’s leaving for Uni, so it’s going to be sort of a ‘make it or break it’ type of thing.

Maybe he’s exaggerating, but it’s been bugging him for quite some time and he really wants things with Louis to work.

The doorbell rings so he walks downstairs to buzz Louis in. He’s wearing a white tank top and black skinny jeans, but not those ‘fuck me’ black skinny jeans he usually wears when he and Harry go out on their weekly date.

“Hey.” Louis smiles and stands up on his tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “You ready?”

“Yeah. I just need some help with my luggage.”

Louis pouts, still not moving from his spot by the door.

“What?”

“Happy one month anniversary?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah. Happy one month anniversary.” Harry says, and immediately feels guilty about the fact that it had slipped his mind.

Louis doesn’t say anything though as he follows Harry upstairs to his room. He helps him carry all of his suitcases downstairs and into both of their cars, because Harry has quite a lot of boxes he wants to take with him.

His room looks empty without the posters and the clothes, but hey, isn’t that what Uni is all about? A fresh start?

The problem is, Harry’s not sure if he wants things to change. Barbara is already in London and Niall in Sheffield, so besides Zayn (who’s last day working by the pool was two days ago) and Louis, Harry’s got no one to talk to. He just hopes that his new roommate will be nice and friendly, so he won’t feel completely alone.

Harry drives his car in front of Louis all the way to the University, and stops in front of the Peel Park Quarter building, which will be his home for the next ten months. He’s nervous and excited at the same time, but as soon as he sees Louis, his anxiety seems to go away.

Louis has put on his sunglasses in the mean time to shield his eyes from the sun, so he looks even better than he usually does.

_Why do people always look better with sunglasses?_

“I need to talk to you about something.” Harry says while they unpack their trunks and walk towards the main entrance.

“Shit, it sounds serious.” Louis jokes as he pulls the door open and lets Harry walk in first.

“It is. A bit. I think.”

Their conversation is put to a halt when Harry asks the man at the front desk about his dorm.

“Hi. I’m Harry Styles?”

“Harry Styles.” The man says, and his eyes fall on Louis, recognizing him immediately. “I’m Bruce Dillon, your hall director. So if you’ve got any questions or complaint, you come to me. Here’s a sheet of house rules you have to read and sign before you bring it back to me by the end of the day. Here’s your key; you’re in room forty-five, on the third floor. The elevator is right there.”

Harry thanks him and grabs the sheet and the keys, before they’re off towards the elevator. They don’t speak to each other until they’re in his dorm.

It’s a small room with two beds on either side of the room and a bathroom on the left. Two desks are placed on either side of the sliding door that leads to a small balcony. There are shelves above each bed, and two tall one-door closets next to the door.

“Okay, this is killing me. What do you want to talk about?” Louis eventually snaps while he’s unpacking one of Harry’s boxes.

“Oh, right.”

Louis leans against the closet as Harry sits on the bed, looking down at the hands in his lap.

“So…I was just thinking about it today in the shower…about how, I don’t know. If it’s going to work once I properly start Uni.”

Louis makes a face, as if Harry just said the most idiotic thing ever, but doesn’t say anything, meaning that Harry should go on and finish his idea.

“And like…I don’t want us to drift even further apart than we already have in the past couple of weeks.”

This time, Louis steps forward and crouches down in front of him, placing his hands on Harry’s knees.

“What are you even _talking_ about? Drifted apart?”

Harry shrugs. “I mean…do you really think we saw each other more times than we did when we weren’t dating?”

“That’s because I’m busy with football games and press conferences-“

“And going out with your friends.”

Louis pulls back. “So that’s what it’s about?”

“You never invite me out when you’re with your friends, and that makes me feel a bit odd. Like, you’re ashamed of me or something. Like I’m too young and immature to be near your friends.”

“That’s bullshit, Harry. The only times I went out when it wasn’t with you was when two of my friends had their birthday and invited me out. I never really thought you’d want to come-“

Harry looks at him skeptically. “I don’t want you to feel like you’re obligated to invite me along, because I feel so stupid and clingy right now, but I just wanted you to know that I felt like I wasn’t good enough for you, so…I need to know if you still want to continue this.”

Louis shakes his head and stands up, only to straddle him on the bed a second later. He wraps his arms around Harry’s neck and looks at him.

“Of _course_ I want to. Honestly Harry, do you really think I would still be with you if I didn’t like you?”

Harry shrugs. “I don’t know.”

Louis playfully slaps him on the cheek. “You’re an idiot.” He laughs. “There are just ten kilometers separating us, so I don’t think we’ll have that much trouble-“

Before Louis can continue, the door opens, and in comes a tall, muscly guy with curly hair, with loads of boxes and suitcases. Louis gets off of Harry and straightens his top down.

“Is this room forty-five? I’m just asking because I can’t really see the number.” The guy says, and Harry thinks it would be nice to see his face so they wouldn’t have to talk to a couple of cardboard boxes titled ‘DORM SHIT’, and ‘BATHROOM !!’.

The guy finally sets the boxes down, before he looks at them with seemingly innocent blue eyes. They fall on Louis first, because _of course_ , and then on Harry, then back at Louis, before he does a double take and looks at Harry.

“You must be Harry, right?” the guy asks, holding his hand out. “I’m Xander.”

Harry sees Louis scrunching his nose at the name, but doesn’t say anything about it as he shakes Xander’s hand.

“And I’m Louis. His boyfriend.”

“I know.” Xander nods and turns around to pull the rest of his luggage into the room. “You’ve been all over the magazines last month. Quite courageous of you.”

Louis nods, not saying anything.

“So won the game last week against Liverpool.”

Louis smirks this time, placing his hands on his hips. “Yeah we did.”

“Well, this is going to be a bit awkward then.” Xander continues as he takes a poster out of the box labeled ‘4 THE WALL’. Louis’ face falls when he sees a Liverpool FC.

“You’re not actually going to put that on the wall with me in the room, are you?”

“I am, actually. I used to support Manchester United but my boyfriend really likes Liverpool. One thing led-“

“You’re in a relationship with someone who roots for Liverpool?”

“Yeah.”

Harry can’t do anything but watch them as they talk, and he feels like he’s at a tennis match, because his head is moving from Xander to Louis, and then back again.

“And is it a healthy relationship?”

“I don’t know, is _your_ relationship healthy?”

Harry can see Louis’ jawline clench, and he knows it’s time for him to leave.

“Well, thanks for the help babe. I’ll uh-I’ll talk to you later?” he tries, placing a hand on Louis’ shoulder, to try and calm him down.

“Sure.” Louis answers, but doesn’t turn his head. When Harry squeezes his shoulder, he finally looks at him. “I’ll come pick you up at seven tonight, okay?”

Harry’s eyes light up. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” Louis smirks, before he leans in to kiss him. When they say goodbye, it’s either a quick peck if they’re in public, or a dirty makeout session if they’re in private. This time, even though Xander is right next to them, Louis feels the need to push his tongue into Harry’s mouth and kiss him like that until they run out of air.

“See you.” Is the last thing Louis says as he wipes his lips and leaves, slamming the door behind him in quite a childish manner.

“What a polite boyfriend you have.” Xander says when they eventually get back to unpacking.

“He’s just possessive, that’s all.”

“What for, though? Did he feel like I came on to you or something?”

Harry shakes his head. “I don’t think so. It was more like a football thing.”

“Oh, then it wasn’t my obvious flirting.” Xander says.

Harry bites his lip as he stares into his closet, but doesn’t respond to that. It’s a bit weird, and he wouldn’t want to say anything that could be wrongly interpreted. He won’t tell Louis though, because he has a nasty habit of overreacting to things when it’s not the case.

That would be one of the things they have in common.

-

Harry starts getting ready a bit after five, because he has to go through a whole process of shaving, showering and cleaning himself up nicely, before he spends about half an hour deciding on what to wear. Knowing Louis, the ‘surprise’ will either be a really fancy place, or something simple like…maybe something to do with football. There is no in-between.

He eventually settles on a simple blazer, a V-neck shirt, his favorite jeans, and converse. All black everything. To top it all off, he puts a dark blue YSL scarf on his head; the one Louis bought for him last week as a present for…well, for nothing really. Louis just likes to buy him expensive things whenever he feels like it because he apparently ‘has too much money than he can spend’. And even though Harry really likes the gifts, he always feels guilty for accepting them, because he doesn’t want Louis to feel like he’s taking advantage.

It’s a bit weird though; looking at himself in the mirror and doing his hair with Xander in the room; even though the guy isn’t even watching him because he’s too busy skyping his boyfriend.

Louis knocks on his door at a quarter past seven (as expected-Louis is _never_ on time-, he’s at least fifteen minutes late each time, Harry’s noticed), and Harry eagerly opens the door to meet the eyes of his boyfriend.

They share a quick kiss like they usually do before a date, or just when they see each other basically, before Louis asks if he’s ready.

“Yeah. Let me just grab my wallet and phone.” Harry says, even though he knows that they’ll end up fighting because Louis will insist paying the entire bill, instead of splitting it. He looks incredibly good in his jeans, a black button up, and black Vans.

Harry says bye to Xander, whereas Louis doesn’t even bother to acknowledge him. As they walk side by side towards the elevator, Harry notices that Louis is wearing his ‘fuck me’ jeans. He points that out, of course

“You’re wearing your ‘fuck me’ jeans.” He says when they stop and Louis presses the button for their floor.

Louis smirks. “Are you complaining?”

“Not one bit.”

“We’re taking a taxi, because I plan on drinking tonight.” Louis announces when they’re finally outside a building, and Harry spots the car.

“Planning on getting drunk?”

“Not drunk enough so we won’t be able to have sex afterwards.”

Harry almost chokes on air, and wonders how in the world did he get so lucky to have Louis as a boyfriend. Louis, who’s so blunt and always straightforward, always happy and cheery.

“We’re going back at your place afterwards?” Harry asks.

Louis tells the address to the driver before he turns to look at Harry. “No. We’ve got to break in your bed, don’t we?”

Harry blushes because he makes eye contact with the driver through the rearview mirror at that exact moment. Ten minutes later, the cab stops in front of aBode Manchester, where the Michael Caines restaurant is located. Harry knows it’s a really fancy and expensive place, since his father took him there a month earlier when they went out with Kathy, so Harry could ‘get to know her better’, as his father put it.

Yeah, she’s a lovely woman, but she’s definitely not wife material for his dad (not resembling his mother’s characteristics even one bit), let alone _step_ mother material.

“Tomlinson, table for two.” Louis tells the hostess at the entrance.

“Right, Mr. Tomlinson. You requested a booth by the window.”

Louis nods, and the hostess leads them all the way to the back, where they’ve got a great view of the city below them. A waitress is at their table within a matter of seconds with their menus, and Louis orders the wine before he’s even opened it.

“We’ll have a bottle of the Krug 98 please.”

The waitress nods, and leaves the table. As soon as she’s gone, Harry opens his menu and checks the price of the bottle out of habit. He’s not even surprised when he sees that it’s the most expensive bottle on the menu.

Harry eventually settles on the Spaghetti Bolognese, and the chocolate truffle for desert, because he doesn’t want to be too bloated when they go back. He knows Louis doesn’t mind, but it’s all about feeling good while he fucks, or is getting fucked.

When the waitress comes back with the bottle and two glasses, they order.

“I’ll have the steak with fries on the side, a plate of nachos as a starter, and the Belgian Truffle cake.”

Louis stops and looks at Harry.

“I’ll have the Spaghetti Bolognese and the Chocolate Truffle for dessert please.”

The waitress smiles and takes their menus, before she’s off towards the kitchen with their order.

“Why do you always get the same thing whenever we go out?” Louis asks, taking a sip from his wine as he leans forward, meaning he’s ready to engage into some serious conversation.

“Because I like spaghetti. Is that a problem?” Harry daringly asks, taking his glass and bringing it to his lips.

Louis shrugs. “Just asking. So, tell me about this Xander guy. Do you two get along well?”

Harry makes a face as he puts down the wine. It tastes great, but really, all wine tastes the same for him.

“Yeah…uh. We do. He’s a nice guy. From Liverpool.”

“Figured that much.” Louis bitterly answers. “And you’re not telling me something.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your left eyebrow twitched. It always does that when you’re nervous about something. And since I hope you’re not nervous about our date, there must be something.”

Harry really, _really_ hates it when Louis gets into psychologist mode.

“There…might’ve been an incident.”

Louis’ face expression immediately tenses. “What kind of incident. He didn’t make a move on you, did he?”

Harry shakes his head. “Not really. I think. I mean, we were unpacking and he sarcastically said that you’re really polite, and I told him that you’re just really passionate about your football team.”

Louis raises a brow. “That’s all?”

“He also said that he thought it was obvious that he was flirting with me, so maybe that’s why you were so…polite.”

“What the fuck? _Now_ that’s going to be the problem. He’s got a boyfriend, doesn’t he?”

Harry nods. “He was skyping him when you came in. He’s really nice though, they get along well.”

“You’ve met his _boyfriend_?”

“Only like, on Skype.”

Louis shakes his head before he takes another swig of his wine. “If he hits on you again-“

“Calm down, he didn’t hit on me. He was probably just joking. There’s no need to get possessive over it.”

“How am I supposed not to get even the least bit possessive when I know he’s your roommate and he hit on you? You’re going to see him a lot more than me from now on.”

“Don’t you trust me?” Harry asks.

“I trust you. It’s him I don’t trust.”

“He’s got a boyfriend.”

“Apparently he’s not that important.”

Harry places his hand on the table, palm up. Louis instantly puts his hand in his, like they usually do when they’re out for dinner and are having a ‘deep moment’, as Louis likes to call them when they’re cuddling.

“Lou, seriously. It’s nothing.”

“If it _is_ something, then I’m going to punch his face in, you know that right?”

Harry nods, a small smirk playing on his face. “I don’t doubt that for a second.”

“Are you taking the piss right now?”

“No babe. It’s just funny.”

“What’s so funny?” Louis asks, but Harry can tell he’s not being serious; judging by the smile on his face.

“The fact that he’s a head taller than you.”

“That just means I can reach his balls even better.”

Harry snorts. “Now _I_ should be the worried one. Talking about his scrotum already?”

Louis rolls his eyes, but smiles anyway. “You’re such an idiot.”

“That’s why you like me though, innit? Because we’re so alike.”

They talk about Uni afterwards, and Harry’s schedule, and an internship his father landed him at his law firm in Manchester where Harry’s supposed to go three times a week. Louis tells him about his upcoming games, and the private meetings Van Gaal holds sometimes to talk about a new transfer and strategies. And even though it might sound boring to some, Harry absolutely loves it when they just talk about whatever.

Their main courses come half an hour after the appetizer, and they keep talking about things, even with their mouths full.

By the time they’ve finished desert, they’re both too full to finish the last drops of the wine, but Louis takes one for the team and drops both of their remains in one gulp.

“You ready to head back?” Louis asks once the waitress gives him the bill.

Harry nods. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Louis pays the bill with his credit card, before they leave the restaurant and call a cab in front of the hotel. They spend the entire ride making out and touching each other, with no trace of shame whatsoever, because they’ve done this plenty of times.

When they arrive in front of Harry’s dorm, both of them are sporting semis, so Louis just hands the driver a twenty-pound bill and nearly shoves Harry out of the car.

The elevator seems to be incredibly slow, and by the time they enter Harry’s dorm, Louis’ shirt is halfway undone, and both of their lips are bruised from the hasty kisses they’ve shared so far.

“Wait.” Harry says, and Louis stops to look at him impatiently. “Xander is sleeping.”

“So?”

“So…we can’t fuck on the bed next to him.”

“Really? Because I _bet_ we can.”

“It’s-it’s disrespectful.”

“Since when do you care? He’s sleeping anyways.” Louis snarls.

“What if he wakes up?”

“Then you’ll either have to be quiet, or we’ll have to put on a good show.”

Harry sighs, placing his hand on the back of Louis’ neck. They both know they want this, and Harry can never deny Louis anything because he’s _Louis_.

So naturally, he picks Louis up and takes the four steps needed to get to the bed, where he drops him down on it.

“Where’s your condom and lube?” Louis asks breathlessly as he unbuttons the rest of his shirt and lets it fall to the ground.

“My desk.”

When Harry gets on top of him, Louis is already undressed down to his briefs, watching him with an eager expression. Harry tries to catch up to him by removing his blazer, and pulling his shirt and pants off quickly, before he’s on top of his boyfriend again.

Looking at how things are currently evolving, with him on top and Louis moaning into his mouth as Harry jerks them both off, it seems like Harry’s going to be doing the fucking tonight.

But the moment the opens the lube bottle and gets ready to put some on his fingers, Louis stops him.

“Nu-uh. I’ll be doing it this time.”

“Wha-really?” Harry asks as Louis flips them over so he can straddle him.

“Yeah.”

Louis leans down to catch his lips into a deep, messy kiss. “Need to remind you who you belong to, don’t I baby?”

Harry’s at loss of words, so all the can do is nod and spread his legs for Louis to fit between them. Louis wastes no time with lubing up his fingers and shoving one inside of Harry, causing him to moan.

When the second one enters him and Louis curves them up just in the right way, Harry’s legs give out and he’s moaning again. Louis silences him by placing a hand over his mouth and whispering into his ear.

“Shh, baby. You’ll have to be quiet if you don’t want to wake up your roommate.”

Harry nods, arousal shooting up his spine from the way Louis’ fingers still move inside of him, combined with the hot whispering into his ear.

“Get in me.” He eventually whines when it all gets too much. “I don’t want to come yet.”

“Already?”

“Yeah, ‘m loose enough. _Please,_ Lou.”

Louis nods into his neck and pulls his fingers out, wiping them off on Harry’s belly. Then he kneels back and tears the condom wrapper open, before he slides it down on his cock slowly.

“How do you want it?” Louis asks, considerate as always.

“Like this. It’s good, just fucking do it already.”

Louis smirks as he slowly pushes in. “Someone’s eager, huh?”

“You have _no_ idea.” Harry moans, gripping into Louis’ biceps. His legs wrap around Louis’ waist to give him more access, and he whines when he realizes that he isn’t moving.

“I’m just trying to let you adjust, Jesus.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Harry tells him, and that’s what does it for Louis. He starts thrusting, faster than he usually does when he’s just getting started.

It burns just for a matter of seconds, before Harry starts feeling pleasure all over his body. Louis hasn’t hit his prostate yet, but the friction and the way he whispers dirty things into his ear is doing it just fine for him.

They’re kissing now, and even though it seems like Louis is putting a lot of concentration in the way he’s moving his tongue, his thrusts don’t slow down one bit. If anything, it gets even better when Louis kneels up and pushes Harry’s legs up so they can rest over his shoulders.

He places his hands on either side of Harry’s face before he picks up his pace as if he’s looking for his prostate.

“Yeah, shit, right there.” Harry whimpers and brings his hands down to cup Louis’ arse.

“You like this baby? Like the way I’m fucking you right now with someone else in the room?”

“Mhm.”

Harry lets a loud groan out when Louis’ tip pushes against his prostate, and merely a second later, there’s movement from the bed next to theirs.

Louis immediately stops and Harry bites his lip, because Louis is so _deep_ inside of him, putting pressure against his sweet spot. Xander shifts in his bed but doesn’t make a noise, so Louis eventually resumes his movements. It’s not long before Harry feels like he’s going to explode from the pleasure that Louis’ lips and cock are causing him, but he doesn’t say anything since he’s trying to make it last as long as possible.

“I can feel you tightening around me, you close?” Louis asks.

Harry nods and brings his head down to kiss him. Louis obliges and gives a deep, hard thrust, that sends Harry over the edge so he’s coming all over his chest. His sounds are silenced by Louis’ lips on his, even those that come out due to the fact that Louis is still fucking him when he’s so sensitive as he’s trying to reach his own orgasm.

It doesn’t take long for that to happen though; one minute later, Louis is coming into the condom. He slows down, until he comes to a halt and pulls out of Harry, before collapsing right next to him in the tight space.

They try to catch their breathing with smiles on their faces, and Harry removes Louis’ condom and throws it in the bin under his desk.

“’m gonna clean you up.” Louis says and gets out of bed to walk into the bathroom. He comes out a few seconds later with a damp cloth that he uses to wipe Harry off with, and then returns to the bathroom to wash it.

“You know…that cloth wasn’t mine.” Harry whispers a minute later when they’re both under the covers, wearing two of Harry’s clean pairs of briefs.

Harry cuddles up to him by placing his head on Louis’ chest and throwing one leg over his thighs.

“Shit, it wasn’t?”

Harry shakes his head as Louis laughs. He closes his eyes, because he always likes to fall asleep to the sounds of Louis’ erratic heartbeat. He always scolds him for it, saying it’s from all the energy drinks and protein powder he drinks. But Louis just waves it off, saying ‘it’s what all athletes do’.

“So, I think we did a good job with christening the new bed, huh?” Louis asks, and the smirk is audible in his voice.

“Yeah.”

“Do you think he heard us?”

Louis trying to make conversation means that he’s not sleepy yet, and Harry for the first time wishes that he were, because he’s tired as fuck and his arse is still throbbing.

“I hope not.”

“I did.” Comes a voice from the other bed. “And as much as I support you two consuming your love or whatever, I’m really trying to sleep here. So, if you don’t mind.”

Then there’s silence, before Louis bursts out laughing so hard that it rings through Harry’s ears.

That’s all Harry really needed; a reassurance that things won’t change between them now that he’s going to be attending Uni.

And by the look of things, it seems like it won’t change any time soon.

So he falls asleep peacefully, with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> This story is slowly coming to an end; there are two chapters left! Ahh!
> 
> ! Next update will be on December 12th, 7pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	15. The one where everything goes south (and not even in a good way)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited and at the same time terrified to share this chapter with you...make sure you leave a comment with your feedback x
> 
> Thank you to [Anna](http://redphonebooth3.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing for me :)
> 
> Happy reading :D

When they wake up the next morning, Xander is already gone God knows where. Harry’s the first one to stir awake as per usual, so he kindly waits for Louis to wake up as he scrolls through his Instagram and Twitter feed.

It’s half an hour later when Louis finally mumbles something and opens his eyes, before he runs his hand down Harry’s back, sort of like a ‘good morning’.

“Where’s your roommate?” he asks when he sees that they’re the only ones in the room.

“I think he got scared and left.” Harry laughs. “I don’t know, nor do I care.”

He straddles Louis and leans down to peck him, before he gets out of bed.

“What do you want to do today?” he asks Louis, who looks like he just wants to go back to sleep.

“Ugh…I’ve got a meeting at like…two. What time ‘s it?”

“Half past twelve.”

“Shit shit _shit._ ”

Louis gets out of the bed as well and rushes to the bathroom with the same clothes he was wearing last night.

“As much as I’d like morning sex in the shower, I have to get home and change.” He tells Harry who’s just hugged his waist from behind as he’s brushing his teeth. Harry pouts and buries his nose in Louis’ hair.

“It’ll be so awkward today.” Harry says as he watches Louis get dressed.

“Why would it be awkward?”

“Seeing Xander after he heard us having sex last night.”

“Eh, like he wouldn’t do the same to you.” Louis tells him, waving it off.

“If he did, I’d literally _die_ of embarrassment.”

“Well, he’s not you, so I think you’ll be fine. If he says something, tell me okay?”

Harry nods and sees Louis out the door five minutes and a long makeout session later.

Then he goes to sit down at his own desk and opens his laptop so he can Skype Niall and Barbara. They both answer two minutes later, and of course, they’re in the same place; probably one of their dorms.

“Hii. How are you guys?” he asks, leaning his chin on his palm as he looks at the screen.

“We’re good. You’re lucky I went for an early morning jog, or else this one wouldn’t have gotten up in time to Skype you.” Barbara laughs, pointing at a clearly grumpy Niall who looks like he’s just been pulled out of bed.

“So how’s Uni life over there? And why’s Niall in London?”

Niall scrunches his nose. “Tomorrow’s welcome week for everyone in the country, but I spent last night at Barb’s dorm. We got pissed. The thought of driving back to Sheffield is terrible.”

“Um, _you_ got pissed.” Barbara interjects. “ _I_ took care of you.”

“And I love you for that.” Niall smiles and kisses her cheek like the kiss-ass he is.

“Gross.” Harry fake gags.

“What about you? How’s your new roommate?”

“His name’s Xander, and Louis doesn’t really like him.”

Barbara makes a face while Niall gets up from the bed and goes off camera somewhere. “Why not? What did he do?”

“He kind of hit on me indirectly and Louis fucked me with him in the room last night.”

“Wait what?” Niall asks as he plops down on the bed next to Barbara, this time holding a can of coke in his hand.

“Do I really need to repeat myself? Because I’m pretty sure you got it the first time I said it.”

Niall rolls his eyes. “I did. So did he notice?”

“Yeah. He told us that he’d like to sleep, but after we were finished and started talking.”

Barbara and Niall burst out laughing.

“I’m glad this is funny to the both of you.” Harry sarcastically says.

“Oh, come on Harry. You must admit it’s a little bit funny.” Barbara tells him, trying to mask the fact that she finds it incredibly amusing.

Harry hears the key turn in the lock, so he bites his lip. “Shit, he’s back. I’ll talk to you guys on the group chat later. Bye.”

“Byeee!” Niall says and Barbara waves with a smile, before Harry disconnects the call and closes the tab, just as Xander enters the room with a giant box in hand.

Harry gets up from the chair and goes over to him. “Do you need any help?”

“Yeah, it would be nice.”

Harry helps him place the box on the floor between their beds, and then looks at it with his arms on his hips.

“So what’s in there?”

“I bought a mini fridge for our dorm.”

“Is that even allowed in here?”

Xander shrugs. “I don’t know. Probably. I just thought it would be nice to keep drinks and food in there so you know, we wouldn’t have to walk downstairs every time we got hungry.”

Harry nods. “That’s a good idea. How much do I owe you?”

His roommate waves him off. “Oh, it’s fine. Wasn’t that expensive anyway.”

“It’s a minifridge. We’re both going to use it, so it’s only fair that I pay you back.”

“I’m sure you can repay me in other ways.” Xander says, and Harry almost chokes at the suggestive tone.

“W-what?”

“Relax, I don’t mean it in a dirty way. You could do my laundry or something for a few days. No big deal.”

Harry looks at him suspiciously, knowing that this is not what he meant at all, but he lets it slide for the sake of the argument. And his sanity.

-

A call from Louis startles him the next day while he’s out and about campus with Xander, looking around because it’s Welcome Week, which means that there are freshers everywhere. He’s just picking up a pamphlet for a law seminar when the phone rings.

Xander looks at him shortly before he’s back to searching through stacks of paper for something.

“Hey.” He says and makes sure to take a few steps away from his roommate.

“Hi babe. How are you?”

Harry instantly smiles at the soft tone of Louis’ voice and at the pet name.

“What are you doing?” Louis continues, and by the way his voice seems to have a slight echo, Harry figures he must be in his house. Which is odd, because he’s got a game later tonight.

“We’re at the Welcome Week…fair.” Harry says, looking around. “You?” “We?”

_Shit_

“Uh, yeah. Me and Xander.”

At the mention of his name, Xander lifts his head up for a second before he probably figures that Harry’s talking to Louis, so he moves his attention back to what he was previously doing.

“What about you?” Harry asks to change the subject.

“Just layin’ on the couch. I literally haven’t moved since yesterday. Do you want to come over before I have to leave for the game?”

“Now?”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you from anything.” Louis says and Harry knows he’s a bit mad. Why would he though?

“Sure, I’ll come over in a little while. At what time do you have to be at the stadium?”

“Half past five. The game starts at eight, so I expect you to be there, right?”

“Of course.” Harry utters, feeling incredibly remorseful that Louis would even ask him that. He’s never missed one of his games so far, and having a roommate who _might_ be flirting with him doesn’t change anything. He has to make sure Louis knows that.

“Alright. I’ll be waiting. Also, don’t get your hopes up for sex. You know the before-game rule.”

Harry sighs, and rolls his eyes fondly even though Louis can’t see him. “Wouldn’t even dream of it.”

“Bye.” Louis says, and before Harry can say it back, their call is already disconnected.

-

He arrives at Louis’ house a bit later than planned. Well, a bit would be an understatement. Two hours later than he told Louis. But, he’ll understand for sure right? Harry got too caught up with the whole ‘Welcome/Freshers Week’ thing and spent three more hours probing through the different stands that were strewn across campus, picking up pamphlets and small booklets for him to read for when he’d be bored.

When he opens the door, Louis does _not_ look happy.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry. There was a lot of traffic.” Harry says, as a poor attempt at an excuse.

Louis snorts. “At least have the decency to come up with a better lie. I thought you’d already learned.”

There’s a little smile playing on his lips though, which must mean that Louis is not that mad, and actually happy that Harry’s here now. They’ve got an hour and a half left to spare, which is probably going to be filled with Harry eating the junk food Louis has around the house (since Louis can’t eat too much of it because he’s got to be in shape), and them cuddled up on the couch watching Breaking Bad.

“So I’ve got a bit of leftover Chinese from last night when Zayn came by, and half a Subway sandwich with grilled chicken that I fell asleep while eating. Which one do you prefer?”

“I think I’ll take the Chinese.” Harry says as he plops down on the couch. The telly is already turned on with Keeping Up With The Kardashians running, so Harry changes the channel to something more interesting.

Louis sits down next to him a couple of seconds later, and pushes the carton in front of him.

“Thanks.” Harry says and grabs the fork before he digs in.

“So how was today?” Louis asks as he crosses his legs under himself.

“Good. Very interesting.”

Louis points to the stack of things Harry brought with him because he felt way too bad about being two hours late, so he didn’t waste any more time by dropping them off in his dorm. “Are you really planning on reading all of those?”

“I actually am. There’s nothing that interesting for me to do this week anyway, so I think I’ll get plenty of time to read everything.”

Louis nods, but the look on his face expression seems to be pointing in a completely other direction than understanding.

“Look, about the Xander thing.” Harry starts and puts down his fork because he’s not that hungry really; they stopped by a small coffee shop and had something to eat. “I don’t want you to worry about it okay? So what he’s a bit flirty? There’s _nothing_ to be ‘afraid’ of, because I’ll never return whatever he’s doing anyway. I’ve told you this before, but I need you to trust me.”

Louis nods. “Alright. I’m sorry.”

“No, I think I’d be the same way if someone who lived with you in a cramped room tried to hit on you numerous times.”

“Numerous times? As in, more than once?” Louis asks, once again getting worked up. “I’m going to beat the fucking shit out of-“

Harry interrupts him with a kiss, and it’s enough to shut him up. It always is.

“I hate it when you do that.” Louis whispers and buries his face into Harry’s neck.

“No you don’t. You love it.”

Harry can feel him smile against his skin, so he pulls away to lay down on the couch.

“Cuddle?” he asks, opening his arms.

“Hold on.”

Louis presses some buttons on the remote before he’s on his Netflix account and picking out a random Breaking Bad episode.

“We’ll watch this and then I’ll get ready okay?”

Harry nods and smiles when Louis finally shuffles down and cuddles up into his arms, placing his head on his shoulder so he can see the TV. And even though Harry can’t really see anything from this position, he’s just fine with listening to Louis’ sarcastic comments throughout the episode and being a creep by smelling his apple scented hair.

When the episode is over and it’s finally time to go, Louis gets up from the couch and tells Harry he’ll be back shortly after he takes a shower and changes.

“At what time will you be there?” Louis asks when they’re outside the garage.

“Half past seven or so.”

“Alright then.” Louis smiles and gives him a deep kiss before he climbs into his Porsche and drives off.

After he makes sure that Louis locked his door and the garage, Harry gets into his own car and drives back to Uni.

Things will be alright.

-

Things turn out not to be ‘alright’ when Xander asks him if he’s ready to go two hours later.

“Ready to go where?”

“To the game?”

“You’re coming to the game?” Harry asks, not able to contain his surprise mixed with shock.

“Uh, they’re playing against Liverpool, so I’m coming.”

“That’s…great. I’ll drive us there.”

“You know.” Xander starts and watches Harry looking through his closet for something to wear to the game. “If I make you that uncomfortable or if you don’t like me, then you can just say it. You don’t have to be a kiss ass.”

Harry closes the door of his wardrobe. “I’m not being a kiss ass. It’s just going to be weird going to a Manchester United game and sitting next to a Liverpool fan who is also my roommate.”

“How about this? Let’s make a promise to each other that we won’t let our football preferences get into the way of our friendship.”

Harry agrees, so they shake on it before he finally walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind himself. It takes him half an hour to shower, get dressed, and then ruffle his hair, and by the time he’s back into the room, Xander is ready to go.

“Doesn’t your boyfriend mind us hanging out?” Xander asks when they’re in the car. Harry stops at a red light and turns to look at him.

“No, he doesn’t.”

“You’ve told him I’ve been hitting on you, haven’t you?”

Harry sighs, rolling his eyes. “I told him he has nothing to worry about. And it’s the truth.”

“Is it?”

Harry doesn’t answer. Not because the answer to Xander’s question was a negative one; it was because he just didn’t want to bother answering. The whole discussion is pointless.

They get out of the car in the stadium’s parking lot fifteen minutes later, and Xander shuts the door a bit too harshly for it to be normal.

“I’ve got my friends’ season ticket. You can use it if you want.” Harry offers when they see the long queue.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, even though you don’t look like a Niall Horan.” Harry says, trying to make a joke. Xander doesn’t seem to have a developed sense of humor, so Harry just drops it.

They take their seats ten minutes before the game is supposed to start, and as soon as the teams come out on the pitch, Harry looks for Louis. He sees him when the older lad does his squats across the field while chatting to Herrera.

Suddenly, they both look up in Harry’s direction, and it’s clear that Louis’ expression falls when he sees who he’s accompanied by. Then he leans over and says something to Ander, before going back to their warm-ups.

After the hymn has been sung, the game kicks off and Harry can’t help but feel incredibly weird watching it without Niall by his side. He knows Niall’s watching it from Sheffield, and maybe even Barbara from her dorm in London, but it’s not the same thing.

He feels a sudden wave of sadness washing over him, so he barely notices when Liverpool scores twenty-five minutes into the game.

“You okay?” Xander checks on him after his hype from the goal dies down and he’s back down on his seat.

“Yeah, I am. Just thinking.”

“About?”

Harry shrugs. “Things. Unimportant things.”

Xander doesn’t say anything else as he turns back into his seat to watch the game. By half time, it’s 2-1 for Liverpool, with a goal scored by Rooney in the forty-fourth minute.

During the break, Xander asks Harry whether he’d like some popcorn or anything else, so Harry asks him for a hotdog and water.

As soon as his roommate’s gone, he’s got an incoming call from his boyfriend.

“Hello?”

“Hey babe, how are you?”

Harry shifts in his seat. He’s way too tired to go through all of this again.

“Good. You?”

He can hear Van Gaal shouting in the background on the other line, but he tries to focus on Louis’ words while he plays with a thread coming out from the seam of his jeans.

“Same, same.” Louis trails off. “So, you’re here with Xander.”

Harry gives a loud, exaggerated sigh. “Not again, please. I’m so tired of this.”

“Tired of what?” Louis asks, voice getting more severe.

“Tired of this whole Xander jealousy thing. It’s really insulting to both me and our relationship that you’ve got trust issues.” Harry mumbles while rolling his eyes.

Louis’ next sentence comes out in a higher pitch than usual. “Where’s all of this coming from?”

“It’s coming from pent-up rage in the past two days. Honestly, can’t you just fucking trust me?”

It’s the first time Harry’s ever gotten angry with Louis and yelled at him, even though it’s not face to face.

Louis sighs. “I trust you Harry, I already told you. It’s him who I don’t trust.”

“Even if he does make a move, which he won’t, I’ll push him away. You _have_ to believe me, or else we can’t continue like this and you know it.”

“I just-I have to go right now, okay? I’ll talk to you after the game. Come see me in the locker room.”

Harry nods even though it’s a phone conversation (a frustrating one at that) and lets Louis hang up first without even saying goodbye. Before he can even start crying or think about where this is going to go, the very reason Louis and him are having problems sits down next to him.

“Here’s your hotdog and your water.”

Harry takes them from him with a small thank you and knows he won’t be able to stomach the hotdog now that him and Louis are technically fighting.

He can’t bare the thought of Louis being pissed at him, because he can’t imagine a life where he can’t kiss and be with Louis, so he tries to thing of ways he can fix this. The only thing he comes up with is to move dorms so he won’t be in contact with Xander anymore.

That’s easier said and done when he’s sitting right next to him, but Harry’s seriously thinking about putting his plan in action if he doesn’t manage to get through Louis’ thick skull by the end of the week.

At one point during the second half of the game, Louis gets the ball and advances to the other part of the field, towards the opponent’s goal.

All Manchester United supporters are standing right now, watching Louis as he passes to Herrera, before he runs past a Liverpool player and gets the ball back, and then kicks it towards the goalie.

It flies right over his shoulder and into the net with grace. Half of the stadium erupts in cheers and whistles, and people are screaming ‘Tomlinson! Tomlinson!’ over and over again.

Harry is screaming and shouting along with them, meanwhile trying to ignore Xander’s eye rolling and polite clapping. Once the atmosphere dies down, Harry sits back into his seat and pulls out his phone to check the time. He’s got a message from Niall congratulating his boyfriend for scoring with only ten minutes left into the game, but he ignores that.

It’s half past nine now, which means that IF they go out after the game to celebrate a tie (hopefully), they won’t even get to a pub or club until at least eleven. Knowing the guys on the team, they’ve probably already made reservations for a club, but Harry’s not sure whether he’s in the mood for it.

The game ends in a tie, 2-2, and as soon as the whistle blows, Harry is on his feet and up the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Xander calls after him. Harry realizes he’s being followed, but he doesn’t slow down until he reaches the familiar hallway that leads to the dressing rooms.

The bodyguard recognizes him already, even greets him as he opens the door, but Harry doesn’t go in because he has to take care of Xander first.

“Just…come here.” He says and leads him around the corner.

Xander looks confused, and that makes Harry way more furious than it should. “What are we doing here?”

“What are _you_ doing here, more like. I’m here to visit my boyfriend and congratulate him after the match. You shouldn’t be here.”

“Jesus.” Xander says and puts his hands up defensively. “I wouldn’t want to be a bother. What’s your problem with me anyway? I don’t get it? I thought we were over this.”

“Well, Louis doesn’t like you, so I’m going to stay away from you. You’re only causing problems, and I don’t even know why.”

“Causing problems? Are you out of your mind?” Xander exclaims, and he’s fairly intimidating because he’s taller than Harry, and definitely better built.

Harry just nods.

Xander exhales and steps forward. “I’ll show you a real problem then.”

Before Harry can even register what’s going on, Xander is cupping his jaw and pressing their lips together. It doesn’t last more than five seconds, because as soon as Harry comes to his senses, he pushes Xander away.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he says. “Get away from me.” He pauses for a moment, running his hands through his hair. “I think you should go. Get a cab or something, I don’t care.”

And then he turns around and walks towards the locker rooms, ready to see his boyfriend.

Louis is in the shower when Harry enters, so he busies himself with David, who’s just changing into some normal clothes.

“Good game.” Harry tells him and sits down on the bench by Louis’ locker.

“Gracias. You’re coming out after right?”

Harry nods, placing his folded hands under his thighs. He feels incredibly guilty about what happened, even though it was nothing and it wasn’t his fault. He should be telling Louis, he knows that, but the thing is, it’ll only cause chaos when it’s not even the case.

When Louis comes out from the showers, he’s only sporting a towel low on his waist, which always makes Harry’s breath hitch.

His boyfriend’s eyes light up at the sight of him, so Harry stands up and kisses him hello.

“You smell good.” Louis observes as he looks through his locker for some clothes.

“You do too.”

It’s weird, because they’re both acting like nothing’s happened, like the call didn’t even take place. Harry doesn’t know whether he should say something, or just go along with it. For the time being, he chooses the latter.

After everyone is dressed and ready to go, and the security guards have made sure that the supporters have left by now, they call a few taxis that would take them to the club they’ve got reservations for.

Harry shares a car with Louis, David, and Herrera, as per usual, and he can’t help but notice that Ander is acting weirder than usual. Something in Harry’s gut tells him that this isn’t a good sign, but he leaves it be, because soon enough they arrive in front of Bijou; one of the best clubs in Manchester.

They get in using their names, and find the three booths they’ve booked for the night right next to the bar.

“What do you want to drink?” Louis asks, placing a hand on Harry’s lower back, making him shiver all over.

“Um…a Tequila Sunrise.”

Louis kisses his cheek before he’s off towards the bar.

“Hey, can we talk for a second?” Ander yells into his ear, startling Harry.

“Sure, what about?”

Ander motions for him to come closer. The words that come out of his mouth completely shock Harry, and he feels like his heart just stopped.

“I saw you and that lad kissing after the game in the hallway.”

“Wha-that wasn’t what it looked like.”

Ander pulls back to stare at him, probably trying to figure out if Harry’s being honest.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t do that to Lou. I lo-like him way too much to hurt him.”

Ander shrugs. “If you say so. I just wanted to make sure.”

“Please don’t tell him; he’ll get the wrong side of the stick.”

“You should tell him. It’s only fair to him.” Is the last this Ander tells him before he’s being pulled into another conversation with Carrick.

Louis is back with their drinks because the waitress took forever to come over to their table, but in the end they’ve ordered three bottles of Vodka they were going to drink with RedBull or orange juice.

And although Harry wishes he could have fun with everyone and dance without looking like he’s forced to do it, he can’t. Because every time Ander talks to Louis, or vice versa, there’s an empty feeling in his stomach.

He thinks he got away with it because it’s way past after three in the morning so Louis is royally pissed, and they’re outside waiting on their taxi that’s supposed to take them back to Louis’. Harry’s going to get his car from the stadium back tomorrow. Right now, his main priority right now is taking Louis home and putting him to bed because he’ll have a giant hangover tomorrow for sure.

Just as two taxis pull up in front of the club (one for the two of them and one for Ander), the midfielder walks over to Louis and whispers something into his ear, before he’s climbing into the car with a smile in Harry’s direction as a goodbye.

Harry walks over to their taxi and is about to open the door when Louis’ words interrupt him.

“You _kissed_ him?”

He freezes for a few seconds, and feels like the entire world just came crashing down on him.

Harry turns around to face him. “What?”

“Don’t play dumb with me! You kissed him!” Louis yells, and even though he’s pissed as fuck and his words come out slurred, he looks dead serious, not to mention extremely angry.

“Louis-“

“You told me I could trust you! That’s what you told me!”

Harry takes a step towards him, in order to calm him down, but Louis steps back, and the motion shatters Harry’s heart into tiny little pieces. He knows this isn’t going to end well, and that he’s probably going to end up crying.

“You tell me that I’m insulting you and ‘our relationship’ because I can’t trust you, but then, not even a fucking hour later, you do the one thing I’m most afraid of? Are you fucking serious?” Louis screams and pushes against Harry’s chest. “How could you do this? You _know_ I’ve got trust issues because of my parents-you…why?”

Louis voice breaks at the end, together with the last remains of Harry’s heart.

“Would you let me explain? Please.”

Louis bitterly laughs. “Explain what? That you chose a better-looking lad over a twenty-three year old fart? Is that it? I’m too old for you? Too small for you? What is it? Am I that hard to keep around?”

“Lou-he kissed _me_. I pushed him away.”

“Oh _really_? Because Ander told me a whole other story. About how you didn’t push him away the moment he kissed you, and that you were still kissing him when he turned around.” Louis exclaims, flinging his arms all over the place. He looks like he’s about to cry from anger.

“That was like…five seconds! Maybe even less! I was shocked!”

“Shocked? Oh, that’s rich.”

Harry wants to tear his hair out of his head. He knew this would come right back to bite him in the arse. He’s done nothing wrong, except of the fact that he hadn’t told Louis straight away.

“It was nothing, I pushed him away. I’d just told him to go home because I didn’t want him there.”

“If you insist that it was nothing, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I _knew_ we’d end up here! I knew you’d blow things out of proportion and make a scene-and…I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Then you should’ve told me! Aren’t relationships supposed to be about trust and loyalty? If you can’t be loyal, at least tell me the truth.”

There are tears running down Harry’s cheeks now, but he tries to keep a calm posture as the human being he cares about (and _loves_ ) the most in the world looks at him with hatred and disappointment.

“Lou, please.” Harry pleads.

“Don’t call me that. I just-don’t do that. Please. You’ve lost the right to call me that the moment you kissed him.” Louis says and walks around him to go and open the cab door.

“Don’t leave, we can fix this.”

“I don’t think we can.”

“You’re drunk-“

Louis looks him in the eye, and it’s only then that Harry sees the sadness in his eyes. “And you’re a cheater. I can’t believe-nevermind.”

Before he can close the door, Harry stops him with one more desperate attempt. “Does this mean we’re over?”

“I don’t know any other way this can work out. You know I will never be able to trust you again, so why bother?”

Harry lets him close the door and watches the taxi as it disappears into the night. He wanted to tell him so much more, to ask him how come he trusts Ander, who tried to jeopardize their relationship before they were even a thing, wants to know why Louis just can’t hear him out, wants to know what he meant exactly when he said he’s got trust issues because of his family (yes, he knows his mother used to have a lot of boyfriends) and most of all, he wants to know Louis is okay.

But right now definitely isn’t the right time, because they’re both more or less intoxicated, and they can’t think clearly.

He hails down a taxi with tears streaming down his cheeks after he chain-smoked the last two cigarettes he had in his pack, and when he gets into the taxi, he tells him his home address, not the dorm address. He can’t go back there right now. Not now, not ever.

When he gets home, he’s not surprised to see that his father hasn’t arrived yet, so he manages to get himself into his room and collapse on the bed.

Harry cries for God knows how long, and even though he tries convincing himself that Louis will eventually want to talk to him and let him explain, deep down he knows that things will never be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments :D
> 
> The next chapter of the story will be the last...I can't believe it. Also, I'll be making into a book, just like I did with [Baby Heaven's In Your Eyes](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/baby-heavens-in-your-eyes/paperback/product-21864775.html), for anyone interested :D
> 
> ! Next update will be on December 19th, 6pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


	16. The one with how it all ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](https://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/bring-your-body-baby)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the last chapter is finally here...make sure you leave a comment with your feedback and let me know if you liked the ending x
> 
> Thank you to [Anna](http://redphonebooth3.tumblr.com/) for beta-ing for me :)
> 
> Happy reading :D

Harry hasn’t been himself for a month now. He hasn’t spoken to Louis since the last time he’s seen him, which was that night after the club when they were both drunk and couldn’t understand each other at all, so maybe that’s why he’s also been ignoring Xander. The atmosphere in the dorm is really weird and awkward, because they never talk unless it’s a ‘hello’ or a ‘goodbye’. Harry’s also missed Louis’ last four games, and he isn’t planning on going to the one this week either.

Driving the Aston Martin is also hard, because it reminds him of Louis; therefore, he rarely uses it.

When Niall and Barbara found out about what happened the day after the club, they told him that he should try to call Louis and explain everything. Of course Harry’s tried to do so, but Louis either ignores his calls, literally hangs up on him, or just shuts off his phone completely. Harry hasn’t tried texting him though, because he knows he isn’t going to get to him that way.

The best thing to do right now is to give Louis space, because ‘time will heal everything’, as Barbara had put it. Harry didn’t think that ‘time’ would mean more than a couple of weeks, but here he is, in a secluded, quiet coffee shop right off campus, working on one of his assignments and still not talking to Louis.

He knows he’s to blame, but so is Louis, sort of. If he’d just let Harry properly explain to him what and how it happened, they would’ve been okay by now. But neither of them was in their right minds that night, so they’re both at fault in their own ways.

Harry’s sitting at the window in the corner of the coffee shop he’s been frequenting lately, working on his Contract Law assignment due in two days, when his phone rings.

His heart stops, because he always thinks it’s Louis, and even though it never is, his heart still jumps at the ringtone. One thing he hates about iPhones, it’s that you can’t set a certain ringtone for a certain person.

It’s Niall calling him.

“Hello?”

“Hi mate, how’re you doing?” Niall asks, and his cheery voice always puts Harry in a better mood.

“Good…well, not really.”

“Still haven’t talked to Louis, huh?”

Harry shakes his head, and then remembers that Niall can’t see him. “That, and I have a three thousand word essay to write for Contract Law and why it’s important and blah blah blah.”

“Shit, that sucks mate. Listen, I just talked to David and he was telling me that he’s thinking of throwing Louis a surprise birthday party.”

Harry’s stomach turns upside down.

“And?”

Niall hesitates. “He asked me if I think you’d be up for it and would show up.”

“Uh…I don’t know if Louis would want to see me there.”

“Well, it’s almost two months away…”

Harry bites his lip and drags his fingers along the edges of his MacBook. “Yeah, but I don’t think we’ll talk until then.”

“It’s his birthday though.”

“Do you need an answer right now?”

“No. David said he’ll start the preparations with the other guys on the team and Louis’ friends next month, but he wanted me to tell you beforehand so you’ll have time to think about it.”

“Alright. I will. Lets see how things evolve until then.” Harry says, gulping.

There’s a small pause, before Harry speaks again. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too mate, but I don’t think I’ll get the time until Christmas to come to Manchester. Barbara and I are going to Louis’ birthday party…I mean, if you want us to. If you feel uncomfortable, we’ll totally understand.”

“No no, I couldn’t say no for the two of you. But I’ll think about it…whether I’ll come to the party or not. I’ll give David a ring in a couple of weeks.”

“Alright. Take care of yourself mate.”

“You too Niall. Bye.”

“Bye.”

When Harry hangs up, he immediately feels lonely again, so the only thing he can do to keep his mind off things is to continue typing.

-

It’s November 30th when he calls David around seven in the evening as he lays in bed with his laptop in his lap. Xander’s out somewhere with some people he’s met during Welcome Week (the week Harry didn’t even bother leaving his house in Manchester), so Harry’s got the dorm all to himself.

David answers on the third ring. “Hi Harry.” “Hey.” He makes a short pause, thinking about what he should start off with. “So I’m calling about uh, Louis’ birthday.”

“Yeah. You’ve decided to come?” David says, and there’s something that sounds a lot like happiness in his voice.

“I did, yeah. But if he sees me and doesn’t want me there, then I’ll leave.”

David sighs on the other end. “Look, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but Harry, Louis is miserable without you. He hasn’t been himself for weeks.”

“What do you mean?”

There’s a pause on the other end, as if David is thinking about what he should tell him. “He used to be in such a good mood and make jokes and just… _play_ well, but now it’s like everything’s changed. And it’s weird not seeing you in your usual seat during a game, and then in our locker room after.”

“He said that?” Harry asks with a trace of hope in his voice.

“No, I’m saying it. And I’m sure everyone, especially Louis, is thinking it too.”

Harry doesn’t know what he should do with that information. “Alright well…thank you. So about the party, tell me more about it.”

“It’s on the 24th, and I’m taking him out for dinner or something with Liam and Zayn, so by the time we come back to his house everyone invited will already be inside.”

Harry wants to ask him whether he thinks Louis would be okay with so many people in his house without his knowledge, but then he remembers that he’s Louis, so _of course_ he would.

“And are you a hundred percent sure that Louis would want me there?”

“I’m sure he’ll be incredibly happy to see you. Trust me.”

“Alright. What about gifts?”

David chuckles. “Well, since he has pretty much everything he wants, we won’t be collecting money for a bigger gift. Everyone’s on their own.”

“Okay.” Harry says, and even though the party is almost a month away, he already gets butterflies by thinking about it. “I’ll see you on the 24th then. Around what time?”

“Eight, so we can bring Louis around at nine, half past nine.”

“Great.”

“Well, I have to start calling everyone else now and give them a heads up. Bye Harry.”

“Bye.”

Harry hangs up and exhales. There are twenty-four days to go until Louis’ surprise birthday party, so he’s sure he’ll calm himself down until then. Twenty-four days is a lot of time.

-

As it turns out, twenty-four days go by faster than anyone could imagine. Harry’s been busy with exams, last minute projects and assignments, so he didn’t even realize he was getting closer to Christmas Eve, and also Louis’ birthday.

It’s Thursday morning and he’s sound asleep when there’s a loud bang on the door, as if someone might’ve died on the hallway, or maybe it’s the weed guy again giving out free kushes.

Harry gets up with a groan and goes over to the door, completely ignoring Xander’s groans. As soon as he opens the door, Niall and Barbara tackle him into a hug so violently, they almost fall over.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Harry laughs, for the first time in God knows how long. He hasn’t seen Niall and Barbara in so long (besides Skype).

“We came to take you out for Christmas Eve lunch!” Niall says, patting his back.

“And then we’re heading to Louis’ surprise birthday party together.” Barbara adds with a smile on her face. Harry tries not to show any kind of emotion at her words, and instead chooses to look at the clock on the wall.

“It’s already noon? Shit.” He groans as he opens his closet to look for something to wear. “Are we coming back to my dorm before the party?”

Niall nods so Harry ends up picking some basic clothes for going out to lunch and then shopping for Louis’ birthday. He has no idea what to get him, especially since he doesn’t know how Louis will react when he’ll see him later tonight. He’s literally dreading it.

“Also, you’re buying me lunch because I paid the twenty pound fee for the alcohol.” Niall announces through the door as Harry takes a shower.

Since Niall and Barbara came by train, Harry ends up driving to Arndale Mall in the Aston Martin. They park behind the large shopping centre and argue about where to eat all the way to the food court. They eventually settled on KFC and Harry bought them all a family bucket and large fries with large sodas to make them happy.

“So what’s been going on with you guys?” Harry asks once they settle down at a table in the middle and start digging into the food.

“Well, you pretty much know everything because we tell you on Skype, so _we_ should be the ones asking _you_ about how you’ve been doing, because you’ve been really secretive lately.”

Harry rolls his eyes and stares down at the chicken wings. “You know how I’ve been doing. Not talking to Louis and being miserable, that’s what my life’s been like for the past three months. I’m literally afraid to open Tumblr or Instagram and see his face.”

“Why?” Niall asks, confused.

“Because if I see him, then I’ll start feeling even worse than I already do and…I don’t know. I’m just afraid to see his face because it’ll remind me of how much I love him and what a stupid prick I was.”

“I think you should just explain yourself to him tonight. After midnight, when everyone sings happy birthday, just get him to a secluded place and talk it over. I’m sure he’ll hear you out.” Barbara suggests with hope in her voice.

Harry bites. “Not if he’s drunk though. You know how he gets after he’s had a few. Irascible and irritated. I honestly don’t know how it’s going to go down, but if he tells me to leave and doesn’t want me there, then I’ll leave without a second thought and will consider it closure.”

“Do you want to bet that you two will make up tonight?” Barbara asks, leaning forward on her elbows and smirking.

“Yeah.”

“I bet that you two will make up and sort things out tonight. And you’re betting that you won’t?”

Harry nods. He knows it’s not in his favor to bet against it, but he’s just trying to be realistic for a change.

“Fifty pounds.” Niall says, butting into their conversation. Harry and Barbara agree, before they shake on it.

“Now.” Harry starts, pushing the empty bucket aside and patting his stomach. “Let’s see if we can find anything for Louis.”

-

Harry ends up buying Louis a really fluffy blanket (for the downstairs couch because Louis usually falls asleep on it and always wakes up being cold unless Harry is… _was_ there to cover him up or carry him upstairs), a special bundle of all Breaking Bad seasons with extras and behind the scene footage (so Louis can cuddle under the blanket Harry got him as he’s watching his favorite show), and a doormat that says ‘fuck off’ (because Louis had mentioned it to him a few months ago when they were out shopping but forgot about it-Harry hasn’t).

He just hopes Louis will like the gift, rather than throwing it out and sending Harry home-like Harry assumes things will go down tonight.

They get back to his dorm, and just to Harry’s luck, Xander isn’t there, which means that the three of them can change and shower in peace.

Harry picks out a white button up, a black blazer, black jeans, and his white converse to go along with the shirt. He gets into the shower after Barbara is done, and half an hour later they’re done and ready to go.

To say that Harry is hyperventilating and freaking out during their taxi ride would be an understatement. He’s never been this nervous in his life, not even during that time period when he was waiting for the acceptance letter. Louis’ gift is resting in his lap, and Harry can’t help but move his legs up and down throughout the entire ride. He feels like he might throw up, or just pass out completely, but before he can even do any of this, the cab stops in front of Louis’ house.

There are no cars outside (everyone was instructed to travel by taxi or anything else except of a car), but there is a light coming from the living room window, which means that people are inside already.

Harry pays the driver before they walk up the stairs to Louis’ door, and ring the bell. Stan opens it, and for a second he seems shocked to see Harry, but then he smiles and welcomes them in.

They leave the presents on the island counter in the kitchen, where all the other presents are, before they join everyone else in the kitchen. Harry spends some time greeting the guys who were on the team, some of Louis’ friends he recognizes, and Sophia who smiles and hugs him.

“Louis is going to be here in fifteen minutes.” She tells him when they’re outside on the back porch, smoking. “Liam just texted me.”

“Is anyone here?”

“Yeah, you were the last ones who needed to arrive.”

Harry bites his lip and looks down at his feet.

As soon as they finish their cigarettes, Niall comes in and tells them that Louis is on his way with the guys and he should be arriving in less than five minutes, so Harry and Sophia follow him back inside.

Harry’s heart and stomach are going crazy on him, and he feels like he’s about to pass out.

Someone turns off the light in the living room and they all wait for Louis’ car to pull up in the garage. They eventually hear an engine running outside, before it stops and a door is shut.

Now it’s just a matter of seconds before Louis will come in and be surprised.

The door opens and it’s dead silent, and Louis doesn’t even get to say something when he turns the light on in the living room, because everyone jumps and yells ‘Surprise!’ at the same time.

Louis is startled at first, his eyes falling on the banner hanging from the ceiling wishing him a happy 24th birthday, and places his hand on his chest.

“Jesus Christ.” He breathes. “I can’t believe this.”

He looks genuinely happy and surprised, but it all goes away when Harry makes eye contact with him. It feels like they’re both frozen for a split of a second, before Louis averts his eyes and starts greeting and thanking everyone.

Half of the people present go into the living room with their drinks, and the other half waits in the kitchen for Louis to open his presents. Louis unpacks things for his car, Christmas decorations, things for his house, etc. When he gets to Harry’s present and pulls out the Breaking Bad package, his eyes light up. Then he pulls out the fluffy blanket and the doormat.

“That’s fucking siiiick! Who got this for me?”

No one says anything, so Harry holds his hand up shyly. When Louis sees him, his expression turns serious as he puts the presents back into the bag. He mutters a ‘thank you’ under his breath before he opens two other presents and then yells for everyone to go and get drinks.

They eventually move to the living room after pouring themselves drinks, and David pushes an USB drive into Louis’ speakers, before he starts a party playlist.

“So that was awkward.” Harry says into Niall’s ear when everyone starts dancing or doing their own thing. They’re in the corner of the living room, standing quite close to each other so they can hear themselves over the loud music.

“Why?” Niall yells, bringing his ear closer to Harry’s mouth.

“Because his expression totally changed when he saw that the present was from me!”

Niall doesn’t seem to be paying close attention to him, so Harry follows his line of vision and it eventually falls on Barbara and a girl, who are talking to each other. Harry immediately recognizes the girl as being Marnie, Niall’s old friend.

“What’s up with that?” Harry asks.

“Nothing. ‘s just weird, that’s all.”

“Did you and Marnie used to have a thing?”

Niall nods, taking a sip of his beer. “When we were younger, but now she’s engaged. Got engaged last month, I think. Anyway, about you and Louis. You should go talk to him.”

“Talk to him when? I can’t talk to him when someone else is present.”

“I’ll watch out for an occasion, okay?”

Harry shrugs, because he has no idea what he’d say to Louis if they ever got to talk.

He doesn’t get the time to worry about that though, because Ander shows up out of nowhere and asks him if he wants to dance. Harry accepts of course, since he’s a nice guy, and soon enough Barbara also comes over to pull Niall towards the swarm of people that are currently moving to Avicii.

They’re quite close to each other, Harry and Ander, but Harry couldn’t give a fuck honestly. Louis hasn’t said anything to him yet (even though they’re making eye contact from across the room quite frequently), so he just wants to get drunk until he can’t walk straight, and maybe forget about everything he’s feeling.

Tomorrow’s Christmas Day, and his father is in Paris with Kathy, so he’s got nothing else to do but to get fucking mortal.

Ander disappears into the kitchen for another round of drinks, so that’s when Niall comes over and tells him to come with him upstairs because some of the lads are going to share a joint and Stan invited him.

“Are you sure I’m not extra?” Harry asks as they walk up the stairs. He knows that the drinks he’s had so far, combined with the weed will get him incredibly shit-faced.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Niall says, rolling his eyes as the opens the door to the guest room.

Harry’s eyes automatically fall on Louis, who is sitting at the edge of the bed next to Stan. Oli, Luke, and Zayn are also there, but it’s a habit of Harry’s to only have eyes for Louis.

Louis doesn’t say anything when they make eye contact, so Harry sits down between to Niall and Luke, as far away from Louis as possible.

Stan does the honors and lights up the joint, before he passes it to Luke, because Louis doesn’t want to smoke since he’s in the middle of Premier League and doesn’t want Van Gaal to find out, otherwise he’ll be kicked off the team.

Harry takes two long drags after Luke, but doesn’t feel anything so he passes it on to Niall. They pass it around four times until it’s gone and no one feels up for it anymore. In spite of the drinking and the smoking he’s done, Harry doesn’t feel dizzy at all; maybe because Louis is right across from him, looking anywhere but in Harry’s direction.

“Well then, who wants to do some shots?” Niall suggests and doesn’t wait for anyone to answer before he’s out the door. Everyone except of Louis and Harry follows, because Louis has to put away the small silver box away, and the remains of the joint have to be thrown in the trash.

Harry’s not sure why he stayed behind, but for some reason he’s determined to make Louis talk to him. The footballer apparently seems to have other ideas, because he doesn’t say anything else as he walks outside on the balcony.

Harry follows him, and even though they’re the only people in the dead of night, with muffled music coming from downstairs, Louis still won’t look at him.

“Lou.” Harry says, and really wishes his voice didn’t break at the three-letter word.

This time though, Louis looks up to meet his eyes properly, for the first time in three whole months. Harry feels like he’s about to break down.

Louis averts his eyes when lights a cigarette and leans forward against the railing. Harry does the same, searching for something to say.

“Don’t make me live without you.” Is the only thing says.

Louis doesn’t say anything, but Harry sees him inhaling, like he’s about to. And he does, eventually.

“I don’t want to either.”

Harry’s heart feels like it’s going a million miles an hour. “Can you just…let me explain myself? Please. One minute, that’s all I ask for.”

“Go on then.” Louis says, voice bitter but with a slight crack in it.

“Xander followed me after the game to the locker rooms, and when I told him to stop following me because he’s only causing problems, he told me that he’ll show me a real problem and kissed me. It lasted like, three seconds, and I pushed him away immediately.” Harry starts, looking down at his hands before he continues. “And I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to hurt you and make a big deal out of something so insignificant that meant less than nothing. I didn’t want us to fight over something…irrelevant. It meant nothing. I haven’t even spoken to him since.”

Once Harry’s finished, he looks straight ahead, not bearing to look at Louis. He said everything he had to say, and now it’s Louis’ turn to say something.

“You should’ve told me the moment it happened. I didn’t…I’ve had some time to think and…it was my fault too. I was pissed and sad and didn’t give you a chance to properly explain. I was so afraid that you didn’t tell me because you didn’t trust me and that it was actually something worth hiding. I’ve seen people in me mom’s life cheat and leave her, and that’s…that’s how it all starts. With lies and things that mean nothing. That’s why I was so afraid and absolutely devastated when I found out from fucking _Herrera_ , and not you.”

Harry rolls his eyes. “He exaggerated a bit too…it wasn’t that long. Louis, you _have_ to believe me when I tell you that it was nothing. I couldn’t live with myself if you didn’t. I absolutely hate it when we’re fighting.”

Louis puts his cigarette out in the ashtray placed on the table behind him, and then turns back around to face Harry. “Me too. I’m sorry.”

Harry’s heart is instantly filled with warmth. “I’m sorry.” He says, and he is.

Louis steps forward and pulls Harry into one of their typical hugs; where his face is buried in Harry’s chest and Harry’s chin is resting on the top of his head.

“I missed you so much.” Louis mumbles into Harry’s shirt, squishing him even harder.

“Me too, you have no idea. Couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat.”

Louis snorts. “Now you’re being over dramatic.”

“Am not! I swear. All those rejected calls and messages made me die a bit inside.”

“I just couldn’t talk to you…I was so scared. I don’t even know why, I’m an idiot.” Louis admits.

Before Harry can say anything else, Barbara comes in and stops when she sees them on the balcony.

“Uh…I hate to interrupt this, but Niall is literally passed out. I think it’s time to go.”

Harry nods, even though he doesn’t want to let go of Louis. Not now, not ever.

“I’ll wait for you outside. He’s in the taxi already.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Barbara wishes Louis a happy birthday once again, before she’s out the door.

“Can we like…see each other tomorrow for lunch or something? So we can talk about…us. Things.” Harry suggests, letting go of Louis.

“I have to be at me mom’s in Doncaster for lunch, but I’ll make it to dinner. I’ll make reservations somewhere.”

“Alright.” Harry smiles. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Louis nods and leads him downstairs. Before he sees Harry out the door, he pulls him in for a kiss.

It feels so good, kissing Louis again after what seems like an eternity.

“I love you.” Louis whispers against his lips.

Harry’s shocked by the words, because he definitely wasn’t expecting them. Before he can say them back though, someone is pulling Louis inside and the door is slammed shut.

On the way back to his house, Harry finds himself smiling as he presses his face to the window. He hasn’t been this happy in a while.

-

He wakes up way past noon the next day, with his face squished into Niall’s shoulder. Somehow, the three of them ended up in his bed, but Barbara is nowhere to be seen.

There’s a note from her on the headboard, saying she’s left already because she has to be home at 12pm to celebrate Christmas with her family.

Harry thinks it would be a good idea if he woke Niall up so he can get to his house in time too; after all, that’s also a reason they came back to Manchester.

“What the…what do you want Harry?” Niall mumbles, almost hitting him with his elbow.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but it’s 2pm on Christmas Day and you’re in my bed.”

Niall immediately sits up. “Shit. Fuck. _Fuck._ ”

Harry helps him out by making some orange juice and quick toast to cure Niall’s hangover while he’s is in the bathroom taking a shower.

“I love you, you know that right?” Niall tells him as he grabs his toast and downs the juice in one go. “Can you call me a taxi while I try to find my other shoe?”

“Sure.”

Niall is out the door ten minutes later, but not before making sure he gives Harry a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek.

All Harry has to do now is wait until Louis calls him with further information about their ‘make it or break it’ date (as Barbara calls it).

It turns out that he doesn’t have to wait too long for that to happen, because Louis calls him two hours later, when Harry’s one the couch cuddling Ernie and watching The X Factor.

“Hi b-Harry. I’ll be at your house to pick you up in like…three hours. Or dorm, whatever. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I’m at my house.”

“Alright. I’m just leaving me mom’s house.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye Harry.”

As soon as he hangs up, Harry hurries upstairs to shower and pick out what to wear. He’s fairly nervous about tonight, but he’s got a feeling in his stomach that things will turn out fine. One thing he doesn’t know though, is what to do or say about the ‘I love you’ bomb Louis dropped on him last night.

He knows he loves Louis; he’s loved him for more than four months now, but he’s never said it out loud. Mainly because he’s afraid that Louis won’t feel the same. Now that Harry knows he does, what’s stopping him really? His own chicken self.

The doorbell rings outside sooner than expected, when Harry is just about done with his hair. He hurries to grab his wallet, keys, and phone before he walks downstairs.

Louis is waiting for him outside the gate with a fucking rose in his hand. It’s snowing and it’s already dark, but he looks beautiful in the dim streetlights.

“Hi.” He smiles when his eyes set on Harry, who locks his gate.

“Hey.” Harry breathes and leans down to kiss him.

Louis stands up on his tiptoes, wrapping his arms around Harry’ neck as he deepens the kiss. Harry’s heart is going crazy, and every single fiber of his being is on fire.

The kiss seems endless; it makes up for lost time, shed tears, and all the times Harry wished Louis were there.

When they eventually break apart, Louis takes a step back and hands him the rose.

“I know it’s snowing and the rose will probably die, but I really wanted to get you one. Sort of…a Christmas/make up gift, I guess?”

Harry smiles. “You’re the best Christmas gift I could ever ask for.”

Louis rolls his eyes, but the fond on his face betrays him.

“About what you said yesterday…I didn’t get a chance to say it back.” Harry starts.

“Oh, you don’t-I don’t know why I said that. I guess I just…I felt it right in that moment. And right now. And many times before, but I way too scared to say it. I don’t want you to say it because you feel obligated to. I want you to say it when you feel it. That would make me happy.” Louis says, and takes a long breath once he’s done speaking so fast.

“Lou.” Harry smiles, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know. So where are we going?”

“There’s a cozy restaurant a few blocks away, I saw it on the way here. We can walk there if you want.”

Harry nods and doesn’t waste any time to take his hand. Their fingers intertwine out of habit, and they fit so perfectly together that it can’t be a coincidence.

“You know…I came to a conclusion, as to why we argued so badly that night.” Louis says two minutes later.

“Enlighten me.” Harry smirks, squeezing his hand.

“You know you shouldn’t worry when we argue, because it means there’s something left to fight for.”

“You’re right.”

Louis stops, and turns to look at Harry. “I don’t know what’s going to happen for here on out, but I know that I want to be with you as long as you’ll have me.”

Harry’s face breaks into a smile. “I love you.”

The way Louis’ eyes light up at the words makes everything worth it. All the pain Harry’s been through; all the sleepless nights, everything.

Louis presses their lips together, and even though it’s cold outside, Harry feels warm all over.

“You know it’s you right?” Harry whispers into his mouth, bringing him closer by the back of his neck.

Louis chuckles. “I hope so.”

**“It’s always been you.”**

**_THE END_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought of the last chapter in the comments :D
> 
> It feels really weird finishing this story because I really enjoyed writing it. Even though sometimes I didn't get the time so I ended up postponing some chapters, I never had writers block. 
> 
> I made it into a book called [I Can Bring You Fame](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/i-can-bring-you-fame/paperback/product-22493863.html), because Bring Your Body Baby sounded a bit too vulgar :) You can buy it [HERE](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/i-can-bring-you-fame/paperback/product-22493863.html), and don't worry about your country; it ships everywhere!
> 
> I also want to announce something else! I'll be posting the first chapter of my spy!AU on the 24th of December, 4pm UK time, so make sure you give it a read!
> 
>  
> 
> Here's the summary: 
> 
> AU. Harry Styles is an MI6 agent on a mission to find out who’s planning on killing the Prime Minister. Louis Tomlinson is a wanted professional assassin, hired by the MI6 to kill whoever wants to kill the Prime Minister. Louis doesn’t do relationships but he does Harry.
> 
> Featuring Niall as their handler, Liam as Harry’s boss and Zayn as his sidekick.  
> [HERE'S THE TRAILER](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gprDfAgsGA)  
> \---
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo this book is over...I can't believe it. I loved writing this as much as I hope you enjoyed reading it :)
> 
> If you want a paperbook version of it, you can buy [I Can Bring You Fame HERE](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/i-can-bring-you-fame/paperback/product-22493863.html).
> 
> In case you like my writing, make sure to check out my other works and look out for my next fanfic, I'll Throw Away My Faith (Just To Keep You Safe) that will be published on the 24th of December, 4pm UK time !
> 
> Here's the summary: 
> 
> AU. Harry Styles is an MI6 agent on a mission to find out who’s planning on killing the Prime Minister. Louis Tomlinson is a wanted professional assassin, hired by the MI6 to kill whoever wants to kill the Prime Minister. Louis doesn’t do relationships but he does Harry.
> 
> Featuring Niall as their handler, Liam as Harry’s boss and Zayn as his sidekick.  
> [HERE'S THE TRAILER](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gprDfAgsGA)  
> \---
> 
> See you soon x
> 
> ☆ You can also follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story, or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ronniebenett) ☆


End file.
